111 Capital Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

111 Capital purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,304 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,331,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,274,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,061,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,995 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $803,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $894,000. Finally, Lighthouse Financial LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,492,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners restated a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $1.99 on Thursday, reaching $447.09. 882,371 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,078. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $114.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -203.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $470.99 and a 200-day moving average of $461.47.

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

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.