Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $4.10 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,809 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 710 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $105,282,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.6 %

VRTX opened at $473.98 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $351.44 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -238.18 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $473.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $475.84.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.