William Blair Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.70.

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Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $6.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $503.20. 2,280,400 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,471. The company has a market cap of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $467.89 and its 200-day moving average is $462.69.

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 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 15.63 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.