806 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 806 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $391,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $460.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.14 billion, a P/E ratio of -209.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $462.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.