Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Purchases 1,521 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,033 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,521 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.84.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $439.71 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $113.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.34, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $435.36 and a 200 day moving average of $464.32. 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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.