28,158 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Purchased by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 28,158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,339,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $420.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $444.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $108.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -209.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.