Sapient Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 34,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,032,000.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’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 $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $401.08. 1,064,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. 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 50-day moving average of $409.06 and a 200 day moving average of $399.73. The firm has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Maxim Group cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $430.86.

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.