Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Purchases Shares of 1,283 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,283 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,314 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $611,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,153 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,397,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 125.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 230,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $107,200,000 after buying an additional 128,061 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $489,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $24,280,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.17.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $474.62 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $481.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.66. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

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