Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Has $772,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,659 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,191,000. Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 28,082 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,426,000 after buying an additional 3,495 shares in the last quarter. PFM Health Sciences LP acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $60,566,000. Oracle Alpha Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $354,000. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 5,541 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,255,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $476.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.53 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.95.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,487 shares of company stock worth $14,657,149 in the last ninety days. 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.