Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $1.52 Billion Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 164.1% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 1.46% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,519,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $508.65.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $11.65 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $481.04. 692,072 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,273,375. The business has a 50 day moving average of $476.45 and a 200 day moving average of $463.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-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 company has a market capitalization of $123.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -218.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current 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.