Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,055 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,964 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $731,283,000. WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $435,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $338,136,000 after purchasing an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $190,037,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $511.74 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $131.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.61, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $469.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $462.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.