Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 75,581 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 13.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 476,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 75,581 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.19% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $231,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $662,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $21,008,000. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $498,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $463.73. 1,097,110 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,269,808. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a PE ratio of -233.03 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $473.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $476.05. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $391.01 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) 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. The firm 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 revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current 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.