Northern Trust Corp Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,721,049 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 355,057 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $1,095,766,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Resource Group grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,352.3% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $24,280,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $2,187,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, 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 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 company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $496.49 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $127.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $490.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $466.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

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

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.