Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 461,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,301 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.18% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $214,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $465.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day moving average is $471.06. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $519.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.12.

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.