Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Morgan Stanley

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $665.00 to $660.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the pharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $560.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $542.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $137.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $406.67 and a fifty-two week high of $568.67. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $522.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (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 21.98%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.80 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals will post 16.50 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex reported third-quarter revenue of $3.44 billion, up about 12% year over year, and raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $13.15 billion–$13.25 billion. Growth was supported by its cystic fibrosis business and newer products, including CASGEVY. The company also faces a key November 30 FDA decision date for povetacicept in IgA nephropathy. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts raised Vertex price targets or reiterated Buy/Overweight ratings, including Barclays, TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Stifel, Cantor Fitzgerald, RBC, UBS, Wells Fargo, and Scotiabank. The broad positive analyst tone points to confidence in the company’s outlook. Barclays price-target increase
• Positive Sentiment: A longer-term bullish view cited Vertex’s strong position in cystic fibrosis and its gradual expansion into other treatments as reasons it could remain an attractive biotech stock. Long-term outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue exceeded analyst estimates, but earnings per share of $4.76 came in slightly below the $4.82 consensus—an offset to the encouraging sales and guidance update.
• Negative Sentiment: Morgan Stanley lowered its expectations for Vertex’s stock price, offering a counterpoint to the wave of target increases. Morgan Stanley outlook

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.