Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,381 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,962 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.0% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position 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 worth $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 valued at $150,977,000 after purchasing an additional 324,188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $6.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $488.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,078,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,045. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $435.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market capitalization of $125.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -245.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $460.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $502.58.

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.