Shelton Capital Management Buys 647 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Shelton Capital Management raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,631 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $22,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 121,600 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,968,000 after acquiring an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 581,181 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,042,000 after purchasing an additional 23,964 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $329,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 238,029 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,492,000 after buying an additional 8,987 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after buying an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Ten research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $474.56 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $121.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.71, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $482.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.63.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.