Apollon Wealth Management LLC Acquires 12,955 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 106.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,127 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,955 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the first quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 1,786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $866,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $511.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $120.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -119.60 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $447.71 and a 200-day moving average of $461.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 3.36% and a negative net margin of 8.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.