Leavell Investment Management Inc. Has $3.75 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,423 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,750,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. 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, June 17th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, 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. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $10.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $468.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 892,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,305. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The business's 50 day moving average price is $447.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.40. The company has a market cap of $120.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.60 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.