US Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

US Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 537 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,817 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $980,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 713.6% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $1,858,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 4,893 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,701,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 85,158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,613,000 after purchasing an additional 6,745 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $418.99. The stock had a trading volume of 676,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,628. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $320.01 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The stock has a market cap of $108.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $407.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $400.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $432.18.

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.