Pacer Advisors Inc. Has $15.63 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,359 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $662,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $498,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7 %

VRTX opened at $440.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $434.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.45, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $494.76.

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.