Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Receives "Overweight" Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $480.00 price objective on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price would indicate a potential downside of 0.47% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $11.91 on Friday, reaching $482.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,025,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,630,273. The firm has a market cap of $124.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -242.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. 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 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $434.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.