24,001 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by Allianz SE

Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 24,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,585,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $492.69 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by 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.