Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 1,400 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $756,381,000 after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.13 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $347.51 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $472.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $475.06. The stock has a market cap of $120.56 billion, a PE ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

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.