HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,767 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 392 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $422.00 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 firm has a market capitalization of $108.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -212.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average is $440.94 and its 200 day moving average is $466.09. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share 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.