Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% during the first quarter, owning 32,259 shares worth approximately $15.64 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported earnings of $4.06 per share for the last quarter, falling short of the $4.29 consensus estimate, with quarterly revenue reaching $2.77 billion.
• Equity analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Vertex Pharmaceuticals, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $509.89.

US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,259 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,916 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.3% in the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 937 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 165.8% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,837 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,146 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.9% in the first quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the first quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,530 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,711,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 1,782 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $557.00 to $530.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $439.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.21.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 20.6%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $97.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $374.98. 10,722,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,126. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $373.19 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $456.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 24.28%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.