Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Holdings Raised by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 592 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.8 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $459.00 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $435.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $461.80.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.