Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Grows Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,963 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,510,000. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Davidson Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the 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 transaction, 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. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $492.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $476.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $463.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.