Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Davidson Investment Advisors

Davidson Investment Advisors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.2% of Davidson Investment Advisors' portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Davidson Investment Advisors' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $719,186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $3.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $484.24. 1,444,007 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,541,286. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $436.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.70. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.