Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Boosts Stake

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 641,165 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,910 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $335,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,896,910,000 after acquiring an additional 141,320 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,613,209,000 after acquiring an additional 35,069 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,086,683 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,533,248,000 after purchasing an additional 29,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,509,651,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Leerink Partners assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, September 21st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $594.00 target price on the stock. Evercore boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $556.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views or raised price targets, including Barclays, Maxim Group, TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Stifel. These updates support the case for further share-price appreciation, though the articles do not provide the revised target figures. Read More. · Read More. · Read More. · Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: A long-term bullish outlook points to Vertex’s strong cystic fibrosis franchise and its gradual diversification into additional businesses as potential drivers of continued growth. A separate report says core business growth remains steady and diversification is beginning to contribute. Read More. · Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Vertex said management will participate in three upcoming investor conferences. The appearances may provide updates, but the announcement itself does not disclose new business or financial information. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A bearish analysis argues that costs are growing faster than sales and that Vertex may need another major growth driver to justify its valuation. This highlights execution and pipeline risks as investors assess whether diversification can sustain growth. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analysts are more optimistic: Morgan Stanley lowered its expectations for the stock, providing a counterpoint to the recent target increases. Read More.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

VRTX stock opened at $547.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $406.67 and a fifty-two week high of $568.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $522.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $481.95. The company has a market cap of $138.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 30.70% and a return on equity of 21.98%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF).

Vertex’s CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Vertex serves patients in the United States and international markets, including Europe.