EP Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,438 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $429.60 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -195.27, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $489.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $466.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $442.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Thirteen research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.