Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,379 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $10.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $435.64. 596,054 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,388,132. The stock has a market cap of $111.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -197.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 50 day moving average price of $488.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% 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 ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partners reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $503.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.