Banco Santander S.A. Purchases 15,844 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.9%, acquiring an additional 15,844 shares, bringing its total holdings to 64,028 shares valued at approximately $31 million.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals has received mixed analyst ratings, with an average target price of $512.30, including recommendations ranging from "buy" to "hold."
• The company reported a 2.6% year-over-year revenue increase, with quarterly earnings missing estimates, showing an EPS of $4.06 versus the expected $4.29.

Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 32.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,028 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,844 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 95 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $515.00 to $517.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $512.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $462.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -117.89 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $455.62 and a 200 day moving average of $466.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.

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