Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stock Sold by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 50,437 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,325 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.0% of Cullinan Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,975,849,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 raised its holdings 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 Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,509,651,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Evercore lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $595.00 to $619.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8%

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.06). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 30.70%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate 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.