MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 873 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,884 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 873 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $29,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % 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 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 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, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0 %

VRTX stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $492.47. The stock had a trading volume of 1,369,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,573. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.85, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $488.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.82.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.