Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Empirical Asset Management LLC

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3,381.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 65,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 63,874 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $416.96 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $444.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $466.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

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.