Barclays Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $418.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $509.00 to $418.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50-day moving average of $470.41 and a 200-day moving average of $475.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $662,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $498,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.