MRP Capital Investments LLC Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

MRP Capital Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,920 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises about 1.4% of MRP Capital Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. State Street Corp increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,351,385,000 after purchasing an additional 159,693 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,283,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $510.18 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $466.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.64. The company has a market cap of $131.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.