World Investment Advisors LLC Invests $24.28 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 52,206 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,280,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $120.60 billion, a PE ratio of -235.32 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $473.12 and a 200-day moving average of $475.88. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $355.66 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.20.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.