Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $5.82 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,454 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 467 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $424.26 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $445.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $467.13. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current 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.