Optas LLC Has $864,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Optas LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 103.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,782 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Optas LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. First Merchants Corp increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 592 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 12,043 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,850,000 after buying an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,510,000. Finally, PUREfi Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $455.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $116.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50-day moving average price is $462.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.13. 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 released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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