Wells Fargo & Company Downgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Equal Weight

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $460.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.36% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 5.3 %

VRTX stock opened at $461.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a PE ratio of -232.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $434.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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 analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.