** Shares of drugmaker Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX.O rise 1.1% to $463.96 premarket
** Brokerage Maxim Group upgrades Vertex to 'buy' from 'hold'; raises price target to $575 from no prior target, citing positive povetacicept data
** Co says interim late-stage data showed experimental kidney disease drug povetacicept met its main goal and all secondary goals in IgA nephropathy, a kidney disease that can lead to kidney failure
** Vertex plans to complete a rolling U.S. approval filing by end-March, with the brokerage expecting potential approval in late 2026 or early 2027
** Maxim says povetacicept could become a blockbuster and help diversify revenue beyond Vertex's cystic fibrosis drugs
** Shares up ~12% in 2025
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru)
((Sahil.Pandey@thomsonreuters.com))
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