Hemenway Trust Co LLC Acquires 9,294 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 49,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 9,294 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.6% of Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Hemenway Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $474.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $481.54 and a 200 day moving average of $463.85. The company has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a PE ratio of -215.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.