Simplicity Wealth LLC Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 80.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,299 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 581 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after buying an additional 98,654 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $4.54 on Friday, hitting $455.53. The stock had a trading volume of 421,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,136. The company has a market cap of $116.98 billion, a PE ratio of -206.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The business's fifty day moving average is $462.88 and its 200 day moving average is $460.24. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company 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 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.