Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Reduced by Decatur Capital Management Inc.

Decatur Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 47.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,206 shares during the period. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 324,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $105,282,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.52 billion, a PE ratio of -233.23 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $372.80 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $473.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $475.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.20.

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.