ARK Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 124,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 8,866 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $50,535,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after acquiring an additional 87,397 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,331,593 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,339,611,000 after acquiring an additional 124,141 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,409,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,700,938,000 after acquiring an additional 26,538 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 6,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.07, for a total transaction of $2,785,977.36. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 2,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,406.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,029 shares of company stock worth $7,989,227. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $457.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $417.27.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $417.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $423.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $390.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $309.43 and a 1-year high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

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.