Greenleaf Trust Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,977 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 67 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $0.80 on Friday, hitting $394.28. 1,342,138 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 864,761. The firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $413.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $397.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $316.43 and a 52 week high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

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.