Peloton Wealth Strategists Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Peloton Wealth Strategists grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 177.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,034 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,859 shares during the period. Peloton Wealth Strategists’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $312,000. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 660 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.1% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,868 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $474.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.85 billion, a PE ratio of -215.68, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $438.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.