M Holdings Securities Inc. Makes New $1.89 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• M Holdings Securities initiated a $1.885 million position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter, purchasing 3,410 shares. Institutional investors collectively own about 90.96% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $596.44; 25 analysts rate the stock Buy, one Strong Buy, and two Hold.
• Vertex’s latest quarterly revenue rose 11.8% year over year to $3.44 billion, beating estimates, while earnings of $4.76 per share fell slightly short of consensus.

M Holdings Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,410 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,885,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,975,849,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,509,651,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $928,893,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $830,842,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $784,391,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $633.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $595.00 to $619.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $563.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-five have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $596.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.7%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $550.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $522.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $482.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 2.74 and a current ratio of 2.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $410.50 and a one year high of $568.67.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.82 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.42 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.98% and a net margin of 30.70%. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.10 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1989, it develops medicines for serious diseases, with a long-standing focus on cystic fibrosis (CF).

Vertex's CF treatments include medicines that target the underlying protein defect, such as Trikafta/Kaftrio, Alyftrek, Kalydeco, Orkambi and Symdeko/Symkevi. The company also markets Journavx, a non-opioid medicine for acute pain, and partnered with CRISPR Therapeutics to develop Casgevy, a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia.

Vertex serves patients in the United States and international markets, including Europe.

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