PAX Financial Group LLC Acquires New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

PAX Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 652 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% during the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.71.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $6.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $463.14. 473,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,739. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $118.93 billion, a PE ratio of -118.17 and a beta of 0.41. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $448.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.