Stifel Financial Corp Sells 2,315 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,332 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,315 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $43,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd 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 increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in 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. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $105,282,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 224.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 311,643 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,939,000 after acquiring an additional 215,448 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

VRTX opened at $462.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.00 billion, a P/E ratio of -232.21 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $348.46 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $472.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. 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 target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

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.