13,307 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by New Age Alpha Advisors LLC

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,307 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,359,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $492.69 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of -223.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $476.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is 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.