Independent Advisor Alliance Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 89.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,054 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,170,506,000 after acquiring an additional 100,114 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $504.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a PE ratio of -229.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $457.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.89.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.