Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,663,849 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 37,502 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.65% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $670,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $39,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.6 %

VRTX opened at $486.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.86 billion, a PE ratio of -221.01, a P/E/G 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 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $443.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $461.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.