Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 13,172 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 168.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,003 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,172 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during 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. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $506.70.

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Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $512.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,123,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,472,159. The firm has a market cap of $131.61 billion, a PE ratio of -232.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $462.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.