Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Acquires 40 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,523 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $465.70 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $476.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $471.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.