Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives Outperform Rating from William Blair

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $32.08 on Friday, hitting $470.48. 1,864,205 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,491,444. The stock has a market cap 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $434.34 and a 200-day moving average of $463.31.

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

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in 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 during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.