Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 11.4 %

VRTX stock opened at $396.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.15 billion, a PE ratio of -199.32 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $472.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.