Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Vident Advisory LLC

Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 137.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,834 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,476 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 a total of 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen investment 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 data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $440.66 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $113.16 billion, a PE ratio of -200.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.15.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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.

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