Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Cut to Market Perform at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $470.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $475.30.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 35,721 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,743,000 after acquiring an additional 5,824 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $238,000. &PARTNERS bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $893,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 781 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,578 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.