B&L Asset Management LLC Invests $2.85 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

B&L Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,134 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,853,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.8% of B&L Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $29,401,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,701,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 7,558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,515,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,403 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,648,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued 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 target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $468.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $347.51 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $472.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $474.80. 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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.