Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock: Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Raises Holdings

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 72.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,871,459 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,896,910,000 after purchasing an additional 141,320 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,247,658 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,613,209,000 after purchasing an additional 35,069 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the second 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 valued at $1,533,248,000 after purchasing an additional 29,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,509,651,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $4.31 on Tuesday, hitting $506.26. 414,582 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,372,092. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $523.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $481.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $403.16 and a one year high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.