Gibbs Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Gibbs Wealth Management boosted its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 357.2% in the first quarter, ending with 5,647 shares valued at about $2.52 million.
• Vertex continues to attract institutional interest overall, with several other funds also increasing holdings and 90.96% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Analysts remain largely bullish on Vertex, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $559.61; the company also recently reported Q1 EPS of $4.47, topping expectations.

Gibbs Wealth Management increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 357.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,647 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,412 shares during the period. Gibbs Wealth Management's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $34,779,000 after buying an additional 33,917 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $15,625,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares during the period. Finally, LBP AM SA raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,464,000 after buying an additional 22,918 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $473.09 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $464.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.67. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The stock has a market cap of $120.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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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