Sandy Spring Bank Has $1.92 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sandy Spring Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 313.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,776 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the 3rd quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after buying an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $435,899,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $338,136,000 after purchasing an additional 528,029 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $510.18 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $466.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of 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, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

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.