Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 93.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,898 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,002 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,071,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised 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 worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% in the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated 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, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $512.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $469.65. 1,176,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,076,910. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50-day moving average of $453.13 and a 200-day moving average of $464.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -119.81 and a beta of 0.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.