Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires 802 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,311 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,541,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Czech National Bank raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,994,000 after purchasing an additional 57,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,783,000 after purchasing an additional 55,739 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $453.20 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $435.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.85. The stock has a market cap of $116.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -227.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

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

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.