Columbia Asset Management Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Columbia Asset Management grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $484.74 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.34, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.