Piper Sandler Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $533.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $535.00 to $533.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.73% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.85 on Monday, reaching $441.47. 152,940 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,446,927. The company has a market capitalization of $113.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -222.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $435.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after purchasing an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 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.