ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 22,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,179,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 13,484 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,741,000. Finally, Columbia Asset Management lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Columbia Asset Management now owns 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $474.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $481.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

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.