Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Leuthold Group LLC Increases Position

Leuthold Group LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,113 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $11,975,849,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $1,509,651,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $928,893,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $784,391,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $139.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $522.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $410.50 and a 12-month high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 21.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Leerink Partners started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $594.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $617.00 to $626.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $665.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.44.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF).

Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Vertex serves patients in the United States and international markets, including Europe.