Mackenzie Financial Corp Raises Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 86,827 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,856 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $35,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth 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 third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $393.10 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $316.43 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $414.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $396.76. The company has a market cap of $101.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.