Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Andrew Hill Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Vertex by 234.5% in Q4, buying 8,699 shares to hold 12,408 shares valued at $5,626,000, making VRTX its 9th-largest position (4.3% of its holdings); overall institutional ownership is about 90.96%.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently — EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares at $460.43 and CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares at $481.79, with insiders offloading 80,431 shares (≈$37.9M) over the past 90 days and retaining just 0.20% ownership.
• Analysts have raised ratings and targets, leaving a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $555 (individual targets in recent reports ranged roughly $530–$598).

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 234.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,408 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 4.3% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after purchasing an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after purchasing an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after purchasing an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $891,744,000 after purchasing an additional 95,565 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,585,692.17. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $548.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $436.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $464.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business's revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex's marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.