Analyst Concerns On Vertex's Approved Drug

HC Wainwright cut its rating on Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX to neutral after the stock rallied almost 50 percent Tuesday.

Analyst Andrew Fein started, “VRTX shares are finally appropriately valued.”

Regarding VX-809’s commercialization, Fein shaes his concens. “In our view, RTX-independent academicresearch has already begun to upstage 809, not to mention that in the face of VX-661, 809 is appearing increasingly like an asset rushed towards the clinic prematurely (see 661 section inside). As the fleet of competitor potentiators and correctors grows, and they continue to outperform 809 in preclinical models, we wonder if 809 will be subject to higher regulatory standards and/or stronger commercial/ payor pressure than Kalydeco originally did (we believe that 809 is unlikely to receive pricing at par with Kalydeco in the socio-economic matrix of 2015).”

HC Wainwright has an $85 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals, reduced from $105.