Opinicus Capital Inc. Takes $397,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Opinicus Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 819 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,175,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421,073 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of 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. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners restated a “market perform” rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $460.06 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $118.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -209.12, 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 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $462.88 and a 200-day moving average of $460.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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.