BMO Capital Markets Has Lowered Expectations for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $566.00 to $520.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 31.78% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.27.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $2.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $394.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,620,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,738. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $101.62 billion, a PE ratio of -198.29 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $472.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $475.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $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.