Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 33.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,322 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,847 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 84.4% in the first quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 732 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 22.3% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,725,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the first quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 4,756 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 75,537 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,622,000 after purchasing an additional 930 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,837 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,830,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 20th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $468.85 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $447.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.11. The stock has a market cap of $120.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -119.60 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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