Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target dropped by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $535.00 to $533.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 20.73% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $441.47. The company had a trading volume of 152,940 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,446,927. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $435.36 and a 200 day moving average of $464.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $113.69 billion, a PE ratio of -222.31, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Guidance Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,784 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 11,740 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,728,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 1,175 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 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.