Procyon Advisors LLC Buys 939 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,687 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC now owns 2,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $150,550,000 after acquiring an additional 26,523 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 427,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,485,000 after acquiring an additional 5,514 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $816,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $379.00 target price (up from $332.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $417.27.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

VRTX stock traded up $3.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $420.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 124,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,304,514. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $423.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $390.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $310.90 and a 1 year high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,029 shares of company stock valued at $7,989,227. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.