Whittier Trust Co. Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % 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 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 $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $503.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $467.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.60.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.