Vinva Investment Management Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after buying an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 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 research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded down $2.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $509.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,005,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,837. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $469.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.79. The stock has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of -231.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 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 expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.