Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 20,760 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,447,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 0.8% of Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares in the company, valued at $4,066,242.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $432.18.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $418.99. The stock had a trading volume of 676,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,628. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $407.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $400.88. The company has a market capitalization of $108.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $320.01 and a one year high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal 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.