Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 446,861 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,568 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 0.6% of Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $207,826,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $756,381,000 after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -235.24 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $347.51 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $472.87 and a 200-day moving average of $475.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS 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.