Hager Investment Management Services LLC Purchases New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 5,384 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,168,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.4% of Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Czech National Bank grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $482.28 on Wednesday. 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 quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $434.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $462.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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.