Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Altshuler Shaham Ltd

Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6,619.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,502 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.1% of Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 977 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 450,621 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $183,353,000 after acquiring an additional 9,128 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 17,805 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,965 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,206,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $417.00 to $424.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0 %

VRTX stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $418.99. The stock had a trading volume of 676,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,628. The firm has a market cap of $108.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. 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 Incorporated has a 12-month low of $320.01 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $407.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $400.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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.