Van ECK Associates Corp Has $70.89 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,227 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,466 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $70,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 4,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 56.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,337 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $894,000. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% during the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 430,638 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,750,000 after buying an additional 14,744 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Maxim Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $1.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $394.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 195,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,207,556. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $411.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $399.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $320.01 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 is available through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’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 $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.