Evergreen Capital Management LLC Purchases 2,304 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 92.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,801 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,304 shares during the quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $956,000. Finally, Advisory Resource Group acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $437.67 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $510.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $459.67 and its 200 day moving average is $448.46.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.98 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,806,728.61. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.