Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 target price on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 8.90% from the stock’s current price.

VRTX has been the topic of several other reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $440.77. The company had a trading volume of 179,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,437,187. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $436.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.51 billion, a PE ratio of -221.44, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40.

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 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.