Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at William Blair

William Blair reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a report issued on Monday,RTT News reports.

VRTX has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.1 %

VRTX stock opened at $424.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $445.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $467.13. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during 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.