Sei Investments Co. Acquires 61,234 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 275,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 61,234 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.11% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $110,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Commerce Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 7,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after buying an additional 775 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.6% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,119 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.4% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 18,250 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,463 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 229,042 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $106,523,000 after purchasing an additional 29,225 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $503.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.22 billion, a PE ratio of -228.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $467.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $462.60.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.