Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 894 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $662,000. 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. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $137,783,000 after buying an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $498,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $23.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $461.68. 3,646,769 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,207. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $434.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $463.11. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $118.90 billion, a PE ratio of -232.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $502.58.

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.