Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 59.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 760,517 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 283,684 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.30% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $306,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $484.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,063,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,638. The firm has a market cap of $124.29 billion, a PE ratio of -220.00, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 $480.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.