Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Given New $418.00 Price Target at Barclays

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price cut by Barclays from $509.00 to $418.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $397.27 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a P/E ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. 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 twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $470.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $662,000. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $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.