Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 55.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 275,082 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 97,611 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $110,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $7.37 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $432.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,645,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,935. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $110.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -196.36, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $487.70 and a 200 day moving average of $465.56. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.