Jennison Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 18.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.6% of Jennison Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 2.16% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $2,581,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $499.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $448.01 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $475.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $115.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS 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.

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