Cornerstone Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,760 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $12,299,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in 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 in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $484.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $546.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $563.50.

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.

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