ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 126.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,603 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,451,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $464.00 to $460.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 20th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note 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. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $2.40 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $454.64. 763,957 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,533. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $451.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $458.44. 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 company has a market cap of $116.75 billion, a PE ratio of -115.98 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.