YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 841 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $434.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.98.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.