Health and Healthcare

How Analysts View Vertex After Earnings

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) reported its first-quarter financial results on Wednesday after the markets closed. Despite making some solid gains on Thursday after a mixed earnings report, the stock is now back where it’s been at prior to earnings. A few analysts made calls around this move and we have included this in a montage.

One portfolio manager on CNBC noted that Vertex could end up being an acquisition target ahead, without mentioning any specifics.

The company said it had $0.09 in earnings per share (EPS) on $398.1 million in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $0.27 per share on $437 million. In the same period of last year, Vertex posted a net loss of $0.62 on revenue of $138.51 million.

Looking ahead to 2016, the company gave some guidance on its clinical trials. Vertex anticipates total 2016 product revenues for Orkambi of $1.0 billion to $1.1 billion. The company increased its guidance for 2016 revenues of Kalydeco. The company expects product revenues of $685 million to $705 million, versus the prior range for Kalydeco product revenues of $670 million to $690 million for 2016. The consensus estimates for the full year call for $1.22 in EPS on $1.81 billion in revenue.


On the books, cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled $1.03 billion, compared to $1.04 billion at the end of 2015.

Analysts weighed in on Vertex:

  • Baird has an Outperform rating and lowered its price target to $128 from $144.
  • Barclays has an Overweight rating and lowered its price target to $110 from $135.
  • BMO has a Market Perform rating and lowered its price target to $84 from $90.
  • Cowen lowered its price target from $95 to $75.
  • Goldman Sachs has a Neutral rating and lowered its price target to $88 from $109.
  • Guggenheim lowered its price target from $114 to $104.
  • Jefferies has a Buy rating and lowered its price target to $103 from $108.
  • JMP Securities lowered its price target from $113 to $103.
  • JPMorgan has an Overweight rating and lowered its target to $114 from $125.
  • Leerink has an Outperform rating and lowered its target to $104 from $128.
  • Morgan Stanley has an Overweight rating with a price target of $137.
  • RBC lowered its price target to $115 from $135.

Shares of Vertex were down 2% to $84.34 on Friday’s close, with a consensus analyst price target of $110.30 and a 52-week trading range of $75.90 to $143.45.

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