Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Acquires New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average of $463.66. 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 Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.17.

Insider Activity

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 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 $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.