Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Boosted by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $240,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $325,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.7% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 6,372 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,987,000 after purchasing an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.1% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,422,000 after purchasing an additional 9,957 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $409.56 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $448.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $467.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $105.47 billion, a PE ratio of -205.81 and a beta of 0.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. UBS Group raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. HC Wainwright dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $490.38.

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.