Sapient Capital LLC Increases Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 35,996 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $452.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a 50 day moving average of $463.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.26. The company has a market cap of $116.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -205.65, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.