Voleon Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 13,228 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 13,228 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $5,327,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings 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 raised 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 acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $503.50 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $490.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $466.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $129.44 billion, a PE ratio of -228.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VRTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report).

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.