YHB Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $339,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 841 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $662,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the period. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $498,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $434.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.76.

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.