Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Position Increased by PGGM Investments

PGGM Investments grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 88.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,018 shares during the period. PGGM Investments' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $1.28 on Monday, hitting $396.20. The company had a trading volume of 604,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,220,388. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $411.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $399.17. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $320.01 and a 52 week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.