Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 164.1% of Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,519,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $500.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $473.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $463.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, 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.

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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.