Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,207 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 341 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,136,000 after acquiring an additional 528,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $428.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $110.22 billion, a PE ratio of -215.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $438.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.39. 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 twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 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.