Fayez Sarofim & Co Takes $4.19 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,392 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $4,185,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $514.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $493.84. 1,561,491 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,337,381. The company has a market cap of $126.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -224.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $489.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $466.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.