Vertex Pharmaceuticals price target lowered to $441 from $506 at Bernstein

Bernstein lowered the firm’s price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) to $441 from $506 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm thinks suzetrigine is at least somewhat active in diabetic peripheral neuropathy based on the prior small fiber neuropathy trial of VX-150, but probably no better than what has been seen in recent Lyrica trials, and those trials have shown fairly modest delta vs. placebo, the analyst tells investors in a research note. If the firm can’t get reasonable conviction around the DPN Phase 3 program, Bernstein says it’s hard to expect outperformance in the stock, even as Vertex is viewed as one of the most quality biotech names.