Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Vinva Investment Management Ltd

Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $510.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $131.01 billion, a PE ratio of -231.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $466.02 and a 200-day moving average of $462.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 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.