HC Wainwright Lowers Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $535.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at HC Wainwright from $600.00 to $535.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. HC Wainwright’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 34.67% from the company’s previous close.

VRTX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $397.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $470.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.