OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,233 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $497,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,510,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $2.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $509.04. 1,005,720 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,220,837. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $469.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.79. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.