Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $105,282,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a "buy" 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 upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $3.81 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $413.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,859,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,207. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $447.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.