Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VRTX. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of VRTX opened at $558.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $141.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $523.21 and a 200 day moving average of $479.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $403.16 and a 52-week high of $563.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after purchasing an additional 141,320 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after buying an additional 35,069 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,533,248,000 after buying an additional 29,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,509,651,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.