JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $500.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $503.00 to $500.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on VRTX. Barclays decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $408.18 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.12 billion, a PE ratio of -205.12 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $467.30 and its 200-day moving average is $474.16.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.