Congress Asset Management Co. Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 27.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,576 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 40,427 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $90,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during 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. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during 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 boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during 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 boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during 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 position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $6.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $450.50. The stock had a trading volume of 960,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,419,031. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -204.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day moving average price is $465.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.33.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.