Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $423.28 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,051,111 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 261,891 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $423,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of VRTX opened at $421.16 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $485.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -191.44, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value 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 approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock valued at $1,978,465 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Leerink Partners reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 target price (down from $550.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.04.

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.