Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Price Target to $420.00

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $423.00 to $420.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector perform" rating on the pharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 6.35% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on VRTX. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $2.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $448.50. The stock had a trading volume of 276,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,330. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $459.98. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $115.17 billion, a PE ratio of -203.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 450.0% in the first quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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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