Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Zhang Financial LLC

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,631 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 596 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after purchasing an additional 528,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after purchasing an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $422.00 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $440.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $466.09.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. HC Wainwright reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

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.