13,428 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 212,933 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 13,428 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $111,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 29,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,509,651,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $595.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $576.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $547.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $522.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $481.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.71 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $406.67 and a 12-month high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 30.70%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.