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Investing.com - Stifel has reduced its price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX), a $100 billion market cap biotechnology leader, to $455.00 from $494.00 while maintaining a Hold rating following the company’s second-quarter 2025 earnings report. According to InvestingPro data, analysts’ targets for the stock range from $330 to $624.
The pharmaceutical company experienced multiple setbacks in its pain program, according to Stifel’s research note. Following an End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, Vertex will no longer pursue a broad painful neuropathic pain (PNP) label in Phase 3 trials for its LSR program.
Additionally, Vertex’s next-generation treatment VX-993 failed in its Phase 2 acute pain study. Stifel indicated these results suggest Vertex "may have nearly maximized the efficacy from the NaV1.8 mechanism of action."
The quarter also marked the retirement announcement of Dr. David Atshuler, a key executive at the company. Despite these challenges, Stifel noted the quarter showed commercial success with Alyftrek beating expectations and progress in acute pain revenue.
The stock dropped 15% in after-hours trading following the announcement, which Stifel characterized as significant considering the diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) Phase 3 readout appears distant and the company did not raise guidance as it had typically done in previous quarters throughout 2023 and 2024. The stock is now trading near its 52-week low of $377.85, though InvestingPro analysis suggests the company remains undervalued. Discover more insights and 12 additional ProTips about Vertex in the comprehensive Pro Research Report, available exclusively to InvestingPro subscribers.
In other recent news, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported its second-quarter 2025 earnings, surpassing analysts’ expectations with an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.52, compared to the forecasted $4.27. The company’s revenue also exceeded projections, reaching $2.96 billion against the anticipated $2.91 billion. However, Vertex faced setbacks in its pain medication pipeline, impacting its stock price targets. BMO Capital lowered its price target for Vertex to $530 due to challenges in the company’s pain drug development, including a Phase 2 trial failure for its ’993 compound. Similarly, RBC Capital reduced its price target to $405, citing disappointing efficacy results for Vertex’s Nav1.8 ’993 therapy. Cantor Fitzgerald also adjusted its price target to $485, following negative regulatory feedback and disappointing clinical data from the VX-993 trials. Despite these challenges, Vertex maintained positive ratings from these firms, with BMO and Cantor Fitzgerald keeping an Outperform and Overweight rating, respectively, while RBC maintained a Sector Perform rating. These developments highlight the mixed outlook for Vertex, balancing strong earnings performance with challenges in its pain franchise.
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