Empirical Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Empirical Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3,381.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,874 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,445 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 1,896 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 16,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,697,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.7% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 89,108 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,767,000 after purchasing an additional 18,197 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $352,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $8.92 on Friday, hitting $425.88. The stock had a trading volume of 858,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,464,203. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a market cap of $109.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -214.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $444.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $466.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.38.

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.