Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Lifted by Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC

Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,810 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,406,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings 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 worth $1,519,302,000 after acquiring an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $493.84 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $489.78 and a 200 day moving average of $466.35. The stock has a market cap of $126.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -224.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on VRTX. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.91.

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.