Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) Surges On Study Results

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) shares have popped almost 19% in the pre-market after the company released positive results from two studies. Specifically, two phase 3 studies concerning the Tezacaftor/Ivacaftor combination met the primary endpoints in terms of statistically significant improvements in the lung function metric in people with cystic fibrosis ages 12 and older who have certain mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene. In addition to solid efficacy, the combination was also well tolerated.

Dr. Jeffrey Chodakewitz said:

“The tezacaftor/ivacaftor combination treatment demonstrated clinically meaningful benefits, with a favorable safety profile, across multiple patient groups. This combination treatment may provide a promising new option for treating the underlying cause of CF in the future and brings us increasingly closer to our goal of developing new medicines for all people with the disease.”

In addition, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) received the thumbs up from Citi today, with analyst Robyn Karnauskas hiking her price target to $124 from the previous $105. Karnauskas thinks the positive tezacaftor data removes an overhang from the company’s future development plans. Needless to say, the analyst has a ‘Buy’ recommendation on the stock.

What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

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Of the 742 top institutions in our database, 31 were long $643.39 million of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) and accounted for 3.50% of the float on December 31, versus 33 funds and $454.49 million respectively at the end of September. Samuel Isaly‘s Orbimed Advisors raised its stake by 34% to over 2.1 million shares while John Overdeck And David Siegel‘s Two Sigma Advisors hiked its holdings by 321% to almost 1.1 million shares in the fourth quarter.

The Bottom Line

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) shares are surging on the back of positive study results. Meanwhile, Wall Street has become more positive.

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