Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,769 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Creative Planning grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased 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 valued at $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $5.14 on Thursday, hitting $419.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,408,392. The company has a market capitalization of $107.94 billion, a P/E ratio of -210.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $445.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $467.13. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Raymond James restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.