Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Rating Lowered to “Market Perform” at Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was downgraded by Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a PE ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $105,282,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.