Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $545.00 to $522.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 31.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $397.27 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $190,850,000 after acquiring an additional 21,649 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,525,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $7,912,000. American Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $680,000. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $8,726,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.