Man Group plc Buys 37,008 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 71.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,726 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,008 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $8.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $438.67. 426,741 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,408,353. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.03. The stock has a market cap of $112.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 58,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.