Wright Investors Service Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,241 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Wright Investors Service Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,241 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,980 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $28,595,000 after purchasing an additional 3,142 shares during the period. Hoffman Alan N Investment Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $213,000. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $224,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 451,031 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $218,669,000 after purchasing an additional 8,670 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. 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, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $446.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,683,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,418,620. The firm's fifty day moving average is $468.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $460.61. The company has a market capitalization of $114.68 billion, a PE ratio of -203.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.