American Trust Invests $680,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

American Trust purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,463 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $680,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after buying an additional 324,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $105,282,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $463.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $473.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $475.84. The company has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -233.03 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $391.01 and a 1 year high of $519.88. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Scotiabank increased 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.20.

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.