Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 34,486 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 34,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,032,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $401.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,064,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $320.01 and a 1 year high of $448.40. 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 stock has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $409.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $399.73.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business 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 company posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s 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 $1,804,930.80. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.86.

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.