EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 244 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,153 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Occidental Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $215,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 6,183 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,898,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the period. LVW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.0% during the second quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 742 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 982 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,222,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

VRTX opened at $462.10 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $472.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $348.46 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.