Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,339 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 885 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,109,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,172 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 3,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 2,461 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $450.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $465.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus 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.