Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Leuthold Group LLC Raises Position

Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,113 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $522.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $482.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $410.50 and a twelve month high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 21.98%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VRTX. Evercore increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Leerink Partners began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, September 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $594.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $665.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $596.44.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF).

Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Vertex serves patients in the United States and international markets, including Europe.