UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Acquires Shares of 3,890 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp invested approximately $1.89 million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals, acquiring 3,890 shares in the first quarter.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $4.06 per share, missing the consensus estimate by $0.23, with revenues of $2.77 billion for the quarter.
• Several analysts have issued mixed ratings for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with a consensus target price of $512.30 and a rating of "Moderate Buy" based on analyst evaluations.

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,890 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,886,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Aries Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $293,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,954,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,002 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 189.7% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 359,285 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $139,724,000 after purchasing an additional 235,265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $5.26 on Friday, hitting $462.13. 1,855,148 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,134,276. The company has a market cap of $118.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.89 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $455.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $467.10. 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 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Friday, June 20th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.89.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.