Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at William Blair

William Blair reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) in a research note published on Friday,RTT News reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $461.68 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $434.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.31. 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 has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 109.8% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,095 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 362,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $145,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 8,278 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,334,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 141.4% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,461,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares during the period. 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.