Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Increased by Trustmark National Bank Trust Department

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 358 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $312,579,000 after acquiring an additional 6,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 666,212 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,790 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $451.23 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $346.29 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $475.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 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.