Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vestor Capital LLC

Vestor Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2,589.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,736 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 9,374 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $503.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market capitalization of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $467.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $462.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.