Kennedy Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,615 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,510,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 134,202 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $62,415,000 after purchasing an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the third quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $362,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $916,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,352.3% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 46.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 42,903 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,348,000 after purchasing an additional 13,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $475.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.12. The firm has a market cap of $122.10 billion, a PE ratio of -216.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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.