Maridea Wealth Management LLC Makes New $452,000 Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Maridea Wealth Management LLC invested approximately $452,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 933 shares in the first quarter of the year.
• Institutional ownership is significant, with hedge funds and other investors collectively owning 90.96% of Vertex's stock, indicating strong interest and confidence in the company's prospects.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals recently reported earnings of $4.06 per share, missing analyst estimates, with a revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, highlighting challenges despite a slight annual revenue increase.

Maridea Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 933 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aries Wealth Management bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $22,954,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% in the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares during the period. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 189.7% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 359,285 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $139,724,000 after acquiring an additional 235,265 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $5.93 on Friday, hitting $462.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 886,192 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,952. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $455.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of -118.15 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $512.30.

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.