Menard Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,630 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $656,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $731,283,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,406,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,514,993 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,426,746 shares during the period. Finally, Edgewood Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $436.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $474.73 and a 200-day moving average of $462.07. The company has a market cap of $111.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -198.18, 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 12-month low of $377.85 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,813 shares of company stock valued at $1,889,514 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.