3,260 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,260 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,313,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.2% of Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,263 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,341,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 3,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’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 owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, 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 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $471.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $463.08. The stock has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of -231.38, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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.