Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) “Overweight” Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $480.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 4.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTX. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $8.97 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $461.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,702. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $118.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.54, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $435.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Sandy Spring Bank raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 313.5% in the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 4,776 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,923,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. Investment House LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. Investment House LLC now owns 945 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 15,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,080,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $497,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.