Davidson Investment Advisors Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 62,883 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.5% of Davidson Investment Advisors' investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $30,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $731,283,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.5%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $6.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $466.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,103,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,813. The company has a market cap of $119.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -118.97 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The business's 50 day moving average price is $450.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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.