SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $46,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 target price (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $446.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $114.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $464.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.37.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.