Davis R M Inc. Grows Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Davis R M Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,045 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in 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. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew 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 buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the third quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 641 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $488.34 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $451.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $461.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $125.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -221.97, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.