Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Strong Journavx Launch and Durable CF Franchise Underpin Buy Rating and Long-Term Growth Upside

Analyst Evan Seigerman from BMO Capital maintained a Buy rating on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and keeping the price target at $530.00.

Evan Seigerman has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors that highlight both Vertex’s near-term commercial execution and its longer-term growth platform. He points to the strong momentum of the Journavx launch in acute pain, where total prescriptions and new prescriptions are growing week over week, indicating robust uptake and expanding use, particularly in hospital settings that are not fully captured in standard data sources. His own fourth-quarter sales estimate for Journavx exceeds consensus, reflecting his view that current market expectations underappreciate the early prescription trends and the benefit of broader coverage, prescriber education, and product availability that management is actively pursuing.
Beyond Journavx, Seigerman’s Outperform (Buy) stance is grounded in the durability and breadth of the cystic fibrosis (CF) franchise, which he views as a solid cash-generating base that underwrites continued investment in innovation. He emphasizes that this CF foundation supports a deep pipeline with multiple shots on goal, with recent positive developments in candidates like VX-548 for pain and VX-147 adding to his conviction. These data points, together with promising earlier-stage assets such as VX-880 in type 1 diabetes, lead him to believe there is meaningful upside potential in the shares as the pipeline matures and new indications are commercialized.

Seigerman covers the Healthcare sector, focusing on stocks such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer, and Regeneron. According to TipRanks, Seigerman has an average return of 9.7% and a 52.38% success rate on recommended stocks.

In another report released on December 18, Bank of America Securities also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $571.00 price target.