Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ (VRTX) Hold Rating Reaffirmed at Needham & Company LLC

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $469.97 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $435.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.29. The stock has a market cap of $121.03 billion, a PE ratio of -236.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 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.