Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Downgraded to Market Perform Rating by Oppenheimer

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $53.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $394.28. 5,789,272 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,468. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $101.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -198.13 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $476.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $105,282,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.