Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 61,234 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $110,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $506.70.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm'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 owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $8.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $500.28. 1,328,359 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,112. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $473.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The company has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month 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 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 expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.