Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $596.44 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts are broadly positive: 28 firms give Vertex a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $596.44. Twenty-five recommend buying, one strongly recommends buying, and two rate the stock a hold.
• Recent target changes were mixed but generally supportive: RBC raised its target to $600 and Stifel lifted its target to $563 while maintaining a hold; Morgan Stanley lowered its expectations.
• In its latest quarter, Vertex revenue rose 11.8% year over year to $3.44 billion, slightly above forecasts, while EPS of $4.76 narrowly missed the $4.82 consensus estimate.

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $596.44.

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $576.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $594.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $563.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised price targets, including Barclays, Maxim Group, TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Stifel. These updates support the case for further share-price appreciation, though the articles do not provide the revised target figures. Read More. · Read More. · Read More. · Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A long-term bullish outlook points to Vertex’s strong cystic fibrosis franchise and its gradual diversification into additional businesses as potential drivers of continued growth. A separate report says core business growth remains steady and diversification is beginning to contribute. Read More. · Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vertex said management will participate in three upcoming investor conferences. The appearances may provide updates, but the announcement itself does not disclose new business or financial information. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish analysis argues that costs are growing faster than sales and that Vertex may need another major growth driver to justify its valuation. This highlights execution and pipeline risks as investors assess whether diversification can sustain growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analysts are more optimistic: Morgan Stanley lowered its expectations for the stock, providing a counterpoint to the recent target increases. Read More.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $547.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $522.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $481.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $406.67 and a one year high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($0.06). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 22.40%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $1,509,651,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $928,893,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $784,391,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF).

Vertex's CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Vertex serves patients in the United States and international markets, including Europe.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.