Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 414,371 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,839 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $200,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $2.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $454.64. The stock had a trading volume of 763,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,533. The firm has a market cap of $116.75 billion, a PE ratio of -115.98 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $451.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.44. 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 Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.