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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Barclays from $509.00 to $418.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $397.27. 6,202,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,238,190. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $472.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.81. The company has a market capitalization of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 410,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $190,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,649 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 3,279 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,525,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $7,912,000. American Trust bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $680,000. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $8,726,000. 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.