Holderness Investments Co. Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Holderness Investments Co. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,316 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 27,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $696,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.8% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 104,895 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $42,241,000 after buying an additional 22,165 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 313.5% during the fourth quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 4,776 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,923,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $510.18 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $131.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.90, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $466.02 and a 200 day moving average of $462.64. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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 approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

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.