Bailard Inc. Buys 908 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,330 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 908 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $4.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $400.76. The company had a trading volume of 805,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,464. The company has a market capitalization of $103.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $316.43 and a one year high of $448.40. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $412.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $429.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by 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.