Notis McConarty Edward Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Notis McConarty Edward lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,519 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.3% of Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,510,000. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position 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 valued at $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 fourth 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 boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

VRTX opened at $474.62 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.85. 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 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

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.