Vertex price target raised at UBS calling company top pick in large cap biotech
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UBS has increased the price target of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) to $325 from $258 (~16% upside based on Tuesday's close) and also named the company its top pick in the large biotechnology space.
Analyst Colin Bristow cited Vertex's dominance in the cystic fibrosis (CF) space leading to a double-digit five-year CAGR; disappointing data from rival AbbVie's (ABBV) triplet CF candidate; and an emerging pipeline.

Among pipeline assets, he mentioned VX-147 for kidney diseases and VX-548 for pain, both of which are in phase 2.
VX-548 recently met its primary goal in a phase 2 trial.
However, "this asset still remains relatively high risk with the key [questions] being the translatability of the Ph. 2 results to larger Ph. 3 trials," Bristow wrote.
Seeking Alpha contributor Edmund Ingham rates Vertex (VRTX) a hold.