Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Newly Purchased by AMI Asset Management Corp

Key Points

• AMI Asset Management purchased 66,949 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $35 million and representing about 2% of its portfolio.
• Institutional investors own approximately 90.96% of Vertex, while several other investment firms also increased their positions.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a target price of $579.81; Vertex recently reported 12.5% year-over-year revenue growth despite narrowly missing quarterly EPS expectations.

AMI Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 66,949 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $35,001,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 2.0% of AMI Asset Management Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 793 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the first quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 510 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 759 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $665.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.5%

VRTX opened at $514.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $130.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.28. The company's 50 day moving average is $522.80 and its 200 day moving average is $481.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $403.16 and a 12-month high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.

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