Breakwater Capital Group Acquires 308 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Breakwater Capital Group increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,594 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Breakwater Capital Group’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,237,877,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $176,946,000 after acquiring an additional 416,545 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $236,410,000 after purchasing an additional 384,730 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $137,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $448.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $3,483,664.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,616. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock worth $13,058,787. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $3.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $468.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,234,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,780. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $335.82 and a 52 week high of $486.42. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $444.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $426.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm 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 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company’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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.