Armis Advisers LLC Buys New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 892 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $22,954,000. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 20,593 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,293,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the period. American Trust increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 1,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,848 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $445.10. 1,208,347 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,418. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $472.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.84. 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 $114.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.