Boston Common Asset Management LLC Acquires 671 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 50,963 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,708,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $4.08 on Friday, hitting $443.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,581,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,504. The business has a 50 day moving average of $469.67 and a 200 day moving average of $461.14. The stock has a market cap of $113.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -201.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.