10,392 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Bought by Fayez Sarofim & Co

Fayez Sarofim & Co acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,392 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 124,844 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,275,000 after acquiring an additional 30,512 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 260.2% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 188.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 20,680 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,328,000 after buying an additional 13,516 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $477.52 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $487.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market cap of $122.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -217.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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 transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.