Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price increased by Royal Bank of Canada from $402.00 to $407.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential downside of 11.36% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $502.79.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $10.83 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $459.14. The stock had a trading volume of 665,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,786. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -230.79, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $435.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $462.13.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. 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.