Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Invests $18.30 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 44,966 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,296,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 2.6% of Barlow Wealth Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,410,000 after acquiring an additional 384,730 shares during the period. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $81,378,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after buying an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after purchasing an additional 131,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21,750.1% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 115,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,853,000 after buying an additional 114,623 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 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 transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $8.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $418.82. The company had a trading volume of 1,651,153 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,234,831. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month 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 $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $408.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $400.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 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.