Edgewood Management LLC Purchases 1,526,983 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Edgewood Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7,876.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,526,983 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 1.9% of Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Edgewood Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $719,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $449.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $474.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $346.29 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.12.

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.