Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given Outperform Rating at William Blair

William Blair reissued their outperform rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in a research note released on Friday morning,RTT News reports.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $11.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $482.28. 2,025,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,632,167. The business has a fifty day moving average of $434.73 and a 200 day moving average of $462.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $124.20 billion, a PE ratio of -242.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. 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.