HighTower Advisors LLC Buys 3,544 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,544 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 47,559 shares valued at about $21.6 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with 90.96% of VRTX shares held by institutional investors. Several other firms also added to or initiated positions in the stock during the quarter.
• Analysts remain generally upbeat on Vertex, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17. The company also recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $4.47 EPS on revenue of $2.99 billion.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,559 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $21,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $836,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,056 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,999,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC now owns 568 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $897,802.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 55,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,026,469.50. This represents a 3.22% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,189 shares of company stock worth $9,923,036. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $434.52 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $441.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal 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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