Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,593 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 361 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,550,000 after buying an additional 26,523 shares in the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $148,485,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.06 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $397.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 787,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,810. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $412.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $398.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $316.43 and a 1 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.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

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.