Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by LRI Investments LLC

LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 835 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased 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 period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $473.98 on Tuesday. 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’s 50 day moving average is $473.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $475.84. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $351.44 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.06 billion, a PE ratio of -238.18 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.20.

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.