Jennison Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.3% of Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,999,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,237,877,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $176,946,000 after buying an additional 416,545 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,410,000 after buying an additional 384,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $137,975,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $462.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $448.61.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

VRTX stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $481.89. 774,556 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,227,600. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.73. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $339.02 and a 12-month high of $486.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.