Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reissued their overweight rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.84.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $439.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $435.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.51. The company has a market cap of $113.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.91, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Trust Point Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $377,000. Optas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,267 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.