NorthRock Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 53.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,925 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $2.01 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $440.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,125,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,409,087. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.16 billion, a P/E ratio of -200.30, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $482.97 and a 200-day moving average of $464.36. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business's revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.