Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $662,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after buying an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,213,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

VRTX stock opened at $468.13 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $347.51 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $472.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $475.06. The firm has a market cap of $120.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

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.