Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,593 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,510,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 5,771 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,324,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 61,161 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $24,630,000 after buying an additional 12,631 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,468 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $994,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $0.90 on Wednesday, reaching $445.10. 1,208,347 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,418. The company has a market cap of $114.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -202.32, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $472.28 and a 200-day moving average of $461.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.29 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $464.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $515.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,813 shares of company stock worth $1,889,514 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.