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 company’s cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise.
With AbbVie (ABBV) discontinuing its CF program, VRTX’s 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 company’s pain candidate VX-548 can indicate “massive upside potential, even when modeling conservative uptake.”
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.
“Given this, even with the stock’s recent outperformance, we do not think it’s too late to jump on this train,” the analyst wrote.