Leerink Partnrs Issues Pessimistic Outlook for VRTX Earnings

Key Points

• Leerink Partners has reduced its Q4 2025 EPS estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals to $4.67, down from $4.70, while maintaining a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock.
• For the current full year, the consensus estimate for Vertex's earnings is $15.63 per share, with the company's last quarterly earnings reported at $4.52 per share, exceeding expectations.
• Other firms have similarly adjusted their price targets for Vertex, with Royal Bank of Canada lowering their target from $430.00 to $405.00, reflecting a cautious sentiment towards the company's performance.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs dropped their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note issued on Thursday, September 25th. Leerink Partnrs analyst D. Risinger now forecasts that the pharmaceutical company will earn $4.67 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.70. Leerink Partnrs currently has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Vertex Pharmaceuticals' current full-year earnings is $15.63 per share.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday. HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $478.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $553.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of VRTX opened at $381.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $97.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.30 and a beta of 0.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $407.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,738,650,000 after buying an additional 1,089,063 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,627,135,000 after acquiring an additional 166,987 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,949,228,000 after acquiring an additional 424,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,697,716,000 after acquiring an additional 65,047 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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