Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Acquires 341 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,207 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th 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. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $662,000. Creative Planning boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $428.00 on Thursday. 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 $110.22 billion, a PE ratio of -215.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $438.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

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.