Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Purchases New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of 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 44,966 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,296,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 2.6% of Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $920,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,133,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $816,000. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 124,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,535,000 after acquiring an additional 8,866 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.18.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $8.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $418.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,651,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,831. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $408.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $320.01 and a one year high of $448.40. The firm has a market cap of $108.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.