Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC Makes New $228,000 Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 567 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 worth $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $105,282,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $2.41 on Monday, hitting $407.15. 587,602 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,367,513. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.60 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $448.88 and its two-hundred day simple 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. 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 company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. HC Wainwright decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $600.00 to $535.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average 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.