Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target Raised to $433.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target lifted by Scotiabank from $430.00 to $433.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ: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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $434.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.93. The firm has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.00, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after acquiring an additional 100,114 shares during the period. 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.