GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,988 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $504.77 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $129.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -229.44, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. 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 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $457.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.70.

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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on 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, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % 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 valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.