Welch & Forbes LLC Grows Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Welch & Forbes LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,639 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,858 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $100,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $6.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $463.15. The stock had a trading volume of 691,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,452. The firm has a market cap of $118.94 billion, a PE ratio of -118.15 and a beta of 0.41. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $448.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business 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 earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $511.71.

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.