PGGM Investments Purchases 3,018 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 88.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,018 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Maxim Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $397.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $411.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.17. The firm has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

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

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.