Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Anchor Investment Management LLC

Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,352.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the second quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,060 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,372,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the second quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,491 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $464.12 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $372.80 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.88. The company has a market capitalization of $119.52 billion, a PE ratio of -233.23 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current 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.