Financial Counselors Inc. Buys New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 528 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% in the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $10.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $468.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 892,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,908. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $448.35 and a 200 day moving average of $459.98. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.