Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Tweedy Browne Co LLC

Tweedy Browne Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,065 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,812 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 1.3% of Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.0% in the second quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 12,873 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,731,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after purchasing an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 9,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,373,000 after purchasing an additional 4,632 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.36.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total transaction of $1,122,088.91. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.49 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $470.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.49. The company has a market cap of $117.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $516.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.