Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 2,073 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,127 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,073 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 98,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $39,784,000 after buying an additional 28,240 shares during the last quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,303,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 23,615 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,510,000 after purchasing an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 116,793 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,033,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,552 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $484.22 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.28. The firm has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a PE ratio of -220.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. 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 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.