Anchor Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,352.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $736,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $662,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $21,008,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $464.12 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $372.80 and a 1 year high of $519.88. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $473.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $475.88. The firm has a market cap of $119.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -233.23 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.