Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Makes New $1.28 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,165 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $447.18 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $114.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -203.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $480.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.03.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released 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 the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $535.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.