GAM Holding AG Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

GAM Holding AG increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $7.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $440.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,167,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,723. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.22 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.47 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $459.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $459.55.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 business posted $4.76 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.14.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.