Columbia Asset Management Has $1.02 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Columbia Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 305.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,243 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 124.0% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 27,610 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,517,000 after buying an additional 15,286 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 334,898 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $151,802,000 after buying an additional 15,431 shares in the last quarter. Optas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. SageGuard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $3,674,000. Finally, Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,815,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $436.59 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $460.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $448.54. The company has a market cap of $111.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.