Pacer Advisors Inc. Purchases 6,359 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,359 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,625,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.2% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $548,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 13,632 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,390,000 after buying an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 92.2% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,471,000 after buying an additional 7,647 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $963,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 10,389 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $434.90 and a 200 day moving average of $463.98. The firm has a market cap of $113.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -221.45, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

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.