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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its price objective reduced by Bank of America from $545.00 to $522.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 11.4 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $396.64 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.32 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $472.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during 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%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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