Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 238,029 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $97,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.1% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,396,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 239,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $96,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,377 shares in the last quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 49,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,899,000 after purchasing an additional 9,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 422,698 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $170,220,000 after purchasing an additional 19,630 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

VRTX opened at $474.62 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.