Railway Pension Investments Ltd Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,700 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $41,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $472.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $11.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $494.46. 1,554,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,047,953. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $127.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.36% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $445.56, for a total transaction of $1,015,876.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 34,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,442,664.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,423 shares of company stock valued at $25,528,865. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.