Vertex assumed Overweight at Piper Sandler despite recent rally
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Despite a YTD gain of ~21% in its shares, Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond assumed coverage of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) with an Overweight rating and a $385 per share target on Thursday, noting further upside from the companyâs cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise.
With AbbVie (ABBV) discontinuing its CF program, VRTXâs CF franchise has underappreciated potential in the near term despite its slow but stable growth, Raymond argued.
The analyst also expects approval of gene-edited therapy CTX001 developed by Vertex (VRTX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) for beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease later this year or early next year following a potential priority review.
Additionally, Raymond argues that the companyâs pain candidate VX-548 can indicate âmassive upside potential, even when modeling conservative uptake.â
Raymond sees exciting times for VX-548 ahead of a Phase 3 readout in 2023, given its novel mechanism of action, oral administration, non-addictive profile, and Phase 2 proof of concept data.
âGiven this, even with the stockâs recent outperformance, we do not think itâs too late to jump on this train,â the analyst wrote.
More on Vertex

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Vertex, CRISPR finish rolling submission of application for sickle cell candidate
CRISPR And Vertex: ICER Sheds Light On The Future Of Sickle Cell Treatment