Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Perennial Investment Advisors LLC

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 613 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 230,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,200,000 after acquiring an additional 128,061 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $489,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $24,280,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $474.62 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a PE ratio of -215.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.66. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.