Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,258 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $60,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised 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 valued at $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after acquiring an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $3.91 during midday 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 firm has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $436.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $460.70. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month 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 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 anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $505.61.

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.