Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 168.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,003 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 13,172 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd 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 position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

VRTX stock opened at $504.77 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $129.62 billion, a PE ratio of -229.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $457.74 and a 200 day moving average of $461.89. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, 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 a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.