Barclays Issues Positive Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective boosted by Barclays from $435.00 to $467.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $455.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $117.23 billion, a PE ratio of -228.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $435.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.