Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 23,964 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 581,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 23,964 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.23% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $234,042,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $329,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 238,029 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $97,492,000 after buying an additional 8,987 shares in the last quarter. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,396,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 239,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $96,325,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $8.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $484.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,574,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,055. The stock has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a PE ratio of -220.10, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $484.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

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 (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.41.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

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.