Zhang Financial LLC Purchases 920 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Zhang Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the quarter. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $707,950,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 232.3% during the 2nd quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 933,179 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,961,000 after purchasing an additional 652,321 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,578,444 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $744,603,000 after purchasing an additional 640,899 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 144.6% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 576,398 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $166,452,000 after purchasing an additional 340,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $81,378,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.28 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $316.43 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 company has a market capitalization of $101.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $413.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $397.06.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

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.