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

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

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VRTX. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $438.40 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $434.56 and a 200 day moving average of $463.49. The company has a market capitalization of $112.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.30, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.