First Pacific Financial Has $695,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Pacific Financial lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,725 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 747 shares during the quarter. First Pacific Financial's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Channel Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $716,000. Empirical Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3,381.4% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 65,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,483,000 after purchasing an additional 63,874 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,103 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Retireful LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,272,000 after buying an additional 554 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $5.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $422.00. 1,771,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,811,179. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $442.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $466.48. The company has a market capitalization of $108.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.