Martingale Asset Management L P Has $20.62 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Martingale Asset Management L P lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,207 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,120 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,190,626,000 after buying an additional 1,410,238 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $435,899,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.41.

Remove Ads

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $8.43 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $492.65. The company had a trading volume of 381,415 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,366. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $484.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $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. The company has a market capitalization of $126.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % 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 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.