Midwest Professional Planners LTD. Purchases 255 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,845 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,510,000. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,324,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,630,000 after acquiring an additional 12,631 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $502.92 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $455.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.87. The stock has a market cap of $129.14 billion, a PE ratio of -228.60, a PEG 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 posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.