Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Empower Advisory Group LLC

Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 662 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Edgewood Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,136,000 after buying an additional 528,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $471.76 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -214.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $435.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $460.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.57.

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.