ABC Arbitrage SA Purchases Shares of 3,750 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,750 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,510,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. Bank of America reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $464.84. The stock had a trading volume of 319,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,729. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $435.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.44. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $119.36 billion, a PE ratio of -211.35, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.