Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,848 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 7,663 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,086,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Tower View Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 13,885 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,591,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 30,343 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,219,000 after purchasing an additional 3,764 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $483.31 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $441.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $124.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -219.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This 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 at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.