Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $662,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $509.00 to $418.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $490.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $416.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $444.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for 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 business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.