Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Earns Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by stock analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 price target on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target indicates a potential upside of 4.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $8.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $461.00. The company had a trading volume of 195,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,702. The company has a fifty day moving average of $435.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company has a market cap of $118.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.54, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in 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 buying an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position 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 buying an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after buying an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. 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.