Lion Street Advisors LLC Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lion Street Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 594 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position 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 period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,741 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 662 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 362,334 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $145,912,000 after purchasing an additional 2,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $448.40 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.39 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 simple moving average is $460.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $459.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $420.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $513.32.

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.

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