Oppenheimer Downgrades Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to Market Perform

Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective 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. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $505.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 11.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $50.86 on Thursday, reaching $396.64. 8,207,080 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,535. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $472.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $102.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.32 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $662,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $498,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.