Vertex Pharmaceuticals downgraded to In Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI

Evercore ISI downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to In Line from Outperform with a price target of $438, up from $436. Vertex has been “a monster of a stock against broader sector weakness,” owing to the strength of its cystic fibrosis, or CF, franchise, hopes for the pipeline and buying back share, the analyst tells investors. The stock has reached a new valuation high following multiple Phase 3 readouts across pain and CF, which combined with anticipated headwinds for the emerging pain franchise leads the firm to pause here as it “continues to look for ways to be constructive on this biotech leader,” the analyst added.