abrdn plc Buys 384,730 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

abrdn plc increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 196.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 384,730 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $236,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $319,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $239,000. Heirloom Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Heirloom Wealth Management now owns 17,835 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,257,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,977 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,025,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $6,887,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

VRTX stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $394.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,342,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,761. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $413.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $397.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $316.43 and a 1-year high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.