Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,463 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $484.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,444,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,541,286. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of -220.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $436.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $460.70. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $505.61.

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.