Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Price

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective decreased by analysts at Bank of America from $545.00 to $522.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 33.72% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 12.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $57.13 on Thursday, hitting $390.37. 5,072,662 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,204,880. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $473.69 and its 200 day moving average is $476.36. The stock has a market cap of $100.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -196.17 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.