Zhang Financial LLC Has $1.35 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $707,950,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,961,000 after buying an additional 652,321 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,578,444 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $744,603,000 after buying an additional 640,899 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 144.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 576,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,452,000 after buying an additional 340,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $81,378,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $413.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $397.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share 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.