Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Makes New $203,000 Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew 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 valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $482.28 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $434.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.62. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $124.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -242.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $433.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $502.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.