Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Invests $4.99 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,262 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,989,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 5.2% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $707,950,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,961,000 after buying an additional 652,321 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 144.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,378,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $394.28. The stock had a trading volume of 429,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,233,885. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. The company has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average is $414.17 and its 200-day moving average is $396.74.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.