Vertex Pharmaceuticals downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Baird

Baird analyst Brian Skorney downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to Underperform from Neutral with an unchanged price target of $325. The analyst sees “irrational exuberance” for VX-548. Expectations that VX-548 ushers in a big shift in growth are unsustainable, given the very modest efficacy seen across pain studies, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm does not have the same confidence in the drug’s commercial opportunity given that VX-548 “looks no more efficacious than generically available pain meds.”