Vertex stock skidded Tuesday on a series of first-quarter setbacks that included light sales, slow uptake for two new drugs and a paused messenger RNA study.
Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals tumbled 10% to close at 450.03. Shares undercut their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, though the stock is still consolidating with a buy point at 519.88, according to MarketSurge.
Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger downgraded Vertex stock following the earnings report after hours Monday. He now rates shares a market perform with a price target of 503, down from 550. The downgrade follows "insignificant" sales of Vertex's new non-opioid pain treatment, Journavx. Vertex says 94 million patients with insurance have access to Journavx. But 55% face restrictions.
"Our new investment thesis is that VRTX has compelling long-term growth prospects, but it is difficult to predict Journavx performance near-term," Risinger said in a report. He noted Vertex won't have the results for two kidney disease studies until 2026.
Vertex Stock: Top- And Bottom-Line Miss
Across all products, Vertex reported $2.77 billion in sales, missing expectations for $2.86 billion. Adjusted earnings of $4.06 per share also lagged the Street's call for $4.25. Sales inched 3% higher, but earnings fell almost 15%.
Notably, revenue from Vertex Pharmaceuticals' new cystic fibrosis drug, Alyftrek, came in light at $53.9 million. Analysts projected a more bullish $94 million. Vertex is hoping patients will switch to Alyftrek from Trikafta. Trikafta has a shorter patent life.
"Though Alyftrek has its advantages, we believe the conversion could take longer to play out (we now est. $762M in 2025 sales vs. $992M cons)," RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said in a client note, referring to analyst consensus.
He has a sector perform rating on Vertex stock, and raised his price target by 3, to 423.
First-quarter revenue also took a hit due to a $100 million headwind from Russia, where a company is selling an unauthorized copy of Trikafta. Despite this, Vertex raised the lower end of its sales view for 2025 and now expects $11.85 billion to $12 billion in sales.
"An additional $100 million in negative revenue impact from the unauthorized copy in Russia is expected during the year, the majority of which we expect will occur in the third quarter given typical timing of orders in the region," William Blair analyst Myles Minter said in a note to clients.
He rates Vertex stock an outperform.
Crispr, Moderna Setbacks
On a bearish note, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported light sales of its Crispr Therapeutics-partnered gene-editing drug, Casgevy. Casgevy, which treats sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, generated $14.2 million in sales, up from $8 million in the fourth quarter. Analysts called for $16.3 million to $17.7 million, Leerink analyst Mani Foroohar said in a report.
The news sent Crispr stock down 3% to 36.48.
Moderna stock also slipped 5.1% to 26.43 after Vertex paused a portion of a study testing a potential cystic fibrosis treatment. The drug, which is being developed with Moderna, is an inhaled treatment. This is the second clinical setback Vertex has experienced this year. The company also recently scrapped a type 1 diabetes drug.
Vertex said there could be a tolerability issued tied to the inhaled drug.
"While the pause is unfortunate, we believe that the decision to pause the study rather than discontinue it suggests that, beyond the tolerability issue, management is encouraged by the data generated to data given (the study) is open-label," William Blair's Minter said.
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