William Blair Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,532 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 983 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after purchasing an additional 851,054 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after purchasing an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

VRTX stock opened at $512.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $131.54 billion, a PE ratio of -232.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $462.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $461.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.