Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,189 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,100 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $38,878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings 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 worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $513.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $440.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market cap of $113.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -112.47 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $459.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.55. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.

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