Xponance Inc. Acquires 539 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,507 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $19,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,206,000. Evoke Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,969 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,001,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,612 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 77,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,222,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $513.76 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $459.97 and a 200 day moving average of $461.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -233.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently 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.