Bryce Point Capital LLC Makes New $1.74 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,741,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Columbia Asset Management boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 43,479 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,363,000 after buying an additional 9,149 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,956,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $484.74 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $463.67. The firm has a market cap of $124.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.