Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Buys 1,740 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,624 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 2.0% of Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $72,737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $495.42 on Thursday. 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 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $127.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.19, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $453.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $461.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. Company 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.