Stevens Capital Management LP Makes New $829,000 Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,058 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $829,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $503.20 on Friday. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day moving average is $467.89 and its 200 day moving average is $462.60. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.