Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Purchases 735 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 10.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,768 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $5.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $451.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,286,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,416,487. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $115.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -205.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day moving average is $464.26 and its 200 day moving average is $460.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month 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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

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.