Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Edgewood Management LLC

Edgewood Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 91.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 3.4% of Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,190,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

VRTX stock opened at $474.62 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a PE ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $481.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is 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.