SVB Securities upgrades Vertex to Outperform, raises price target to $374

As previously reported, SVB Securities analyst David Risinger upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $374, up from $265. The analyst believes potential positive financial inflections associated with next-gen triple combo in cystic fibrosis and pipeline developments can drive stock outperformance. He significantly raised his long-term financial projections, with higher contributions from pipeline candidates more than offsetting higher spending growth. Further, his analysis of the company’s pipeline and meetings with management give the analyst greater confidence in the company’s R&D portfolio. A recent development that makes him more bullish about the commercial potential for VX-548 for acute pain was that a new law was enacted at the end of last year which directs CMS to make a separate add-on payment for non-opioid medicines, Risinger notes. This should drive greater VX-548 adoption than we previously anticipated, assuming it succeeds in Phase 3 in early 2024, he adds.