Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,694 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,451,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on 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. Fourteen research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $513.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $4.45 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $445.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,077,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,263. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $456.37 and a 200 day moving average of $459.23. The company has a market cap of $114.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.73 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect 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.