Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,120 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Edgewood Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $504.77 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $457.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a PE ratio of -229.44, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.