Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 664,523 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 114,250 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 0.26% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $267,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $10.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $482.14. 636,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,273,134. The company's 50-day moving average is $476.45 and its 200-day moving average is $463.64. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $123.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -219.91, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $508.65.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.