Whipplewood Advisors LLC Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 334 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $474.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $438.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $460.99. The company has a market cap of $121.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.