O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,245 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 11,564 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $442.96 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $112.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $437.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.98. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.