CENTRAL TRUST Co Lowers Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

CENTRAL TRUST Co trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,985 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 806 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,356,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 60,572.3% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,425,070 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,175,722,000 after buying an additional 2,421,073 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $513.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $441.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $113.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -112.75 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $461.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.86. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 8.91% and a negative return on equity of 3.36%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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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