Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,631 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $657,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $6.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $418.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 156,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,383,294. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $445.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.13. The company has a market capitalization of $107.65 billion, a PE ratio of -210.06 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $490.38.

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.