GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 87 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 87 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $498,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $494.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $407.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.58 and a beta of 0.36. 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 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $456.78 and a 200 day moving average of $470.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS 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.