International Assets Investment Management LLC Has $46.85 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21,750.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 114,623 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $46,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 131.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $401.08 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $409.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $399.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.33 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.86.

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.