Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,307 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $512.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $462.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $131.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

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, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.