Avior Wealth Management LLC Has $1.12 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 22.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,302 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 667 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $440.87 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $459.22 and a 200-day moving average of $459.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.22 billion, a PE ratio of -112.47 and a beta of 0.41.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.

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