Within the last quarter, Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) has observed the following analyst ratings:

13 analysts offering 12-month price targets in the last 3 months for Vertex Pharmaceuticals evaluate the company at an average price target of $260.62 with a high of $331.00 and a low of $200.00.

This current average has decreased by 8.95% from the previous average price target of $286.23.

What Are Analyst Ratings?

Analysts work in banking and financial systems and typically specialize in reporting for stocks or defined sectors. Analysts may attend company conference calls and meetings, research company financial statements, and communicate with insiders to publish "analyst ratings" for stocks. Analysts typically rate each stock once per quarter.

Analysts also give out recommendations like "buy", "sell", "hold", or similar verbage for each stock based on their overall evaluations of the corres ponding company. A "buy" indicates that an analyst is optimistic about a stock's short-term or mid-term growth, recommending traders to purchase the stock. Contrastingly, a "sell" means that an analyst believes the stock will trend downwards in that same time frame. A "hold" suggests that investors should not buy more of or sell any of the specified stock due to that analyst's prediction of stagnation.

Some analysts also offer predictions for helpful metrics such as earnings, revenue, and growth estimates to provide further guidance as to what to do with certain tickers. It is important to keep in mind that while stock and sector analysts are specialists, they are also human and can only forecast their beliefs to traders.