Capital International Investors Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 342,512 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $137,930,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital International Sarl boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 168,592 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $67,892,000 after acquiring an additional 25,544 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 369,354 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $148,739,000 after purchasing an additional 85,350 shares during the period. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,505,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 60,864 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $24,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Finally, First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.7 %

VRTX opened at $489.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $486.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $465.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -222.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.41.

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.