Wedmont Private Capital Raises Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,633 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in 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 buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during 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 buying an additional 324,188 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $105,282,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $426.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $413.37 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $106.45 billion, a PE ratio of -207.72 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $447.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.