Morse Asset Management Inc Purchases 578 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Morse Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.0% of Morse Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Morse Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $439.37 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $487.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.83 billion, a PE ratio of -199.71, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.76 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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.