Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,916 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

VRTX opened at $475.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $476.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $470.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $122.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -243.20 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.