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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Friday,RTT News reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $32.08 during trading on Friday, hitting $470.48. 1,864,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,491,444. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $434.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -236.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,104,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 161.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,601 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 52,578 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,453,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 540 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.