Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 238,029 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,987 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $97,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 28,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,396,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 239,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $96,325,000 after buying an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 49,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,899,000 after buying an additional 9,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 422,698 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $170,220,000 after acquiring an additional 19,630 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $474.62 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.66. The stock has a market cap 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Ten investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.