BMO Capital Markets Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $566.00 to $520.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

VRTX stock opened at $397.27 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. 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 $470.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in 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 stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $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.