Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Has $1.31 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 36.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,256 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 80.0% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 450 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Bray Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Bray Capital Advisors now owns 4,554 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.61.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $484.24 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $436.05 and its 200-day moving average is $460.70. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.