Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 149,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,258 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $60,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $459.00 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -230.65, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $435.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.