Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Outperform Rating Reiterated at William Blair

William Blair reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research report released on Friday morning,RTT News reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $461.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.90 billion, a PE ratio of -232.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $434.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.93.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.