1,421 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $707,950,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $262,961,000 after purchasing an additional 652,321 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,578,444 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $744,603,000 after buying an additional 640,899 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 144.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 576,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,452,000 after buying an additional 340,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $81,378,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $393.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $414.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $396.74. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The firm has a market cap of $101.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.