Ascent Group LLC Has $5.02 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,796 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,763 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,021,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $468.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company’s 50-day moving average is $472.87 and its 200-day moving average is $475.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.56 billion, a PE ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $347.51 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.