DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Has $238.85 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 491,129 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 15,328 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale owned 0.19% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $238,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 978 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 165.3% during the 4th quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 5,842 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 486 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $6.58 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $465.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 55,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,279. The company has a market cap of $119.67 billion, a PE ratio of -118.89 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $450.09 and a 200-day moving average of $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 released its earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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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