Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Acquires New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,260 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.2% of Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after purchasing an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Ten investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % 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. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $471.81 and a 200 day moving average of $463.08. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of -231.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal 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.