JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target dropped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $503.00 to $500.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 25.86% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank raised their price target 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. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $397.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $102.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.63 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week 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. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the third quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. One Wealth Management Investment & Advisory Services LLC now owns 747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.