Neo Ivy Capital Management Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 7,256 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,842,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $945,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 349 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Defined Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the third quarter. Defined Wealth Management LLC now owns 932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $456.69 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $467.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $434.75. The company has a market cap of $116.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.79 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,542,573.40. The trade was a 7.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $126,451.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,763 shares in the company, valued at $22,743,185.05. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 91,156 shares of company stock worth $42,845,497 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright set a $591.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.