Westport Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Westport Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,007,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.6% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,986,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,081 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 643 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,978,465. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $438.65 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $482.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $112.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.39, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $503.00 price target (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

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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