Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,114 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.6% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,170,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.73 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $347.51 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $472.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.06.

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