Lbp Am Sa Buys 54,646 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lbp Am Sa raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,159.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 54,646 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.5 %

VRTX stock opened at $502.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $455.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $461.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $129.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.