Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Rating Upgraded by Canaccord Genuity Group

Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $455.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.23 billion, a PE ratio of -228.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $435.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

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.