Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Position Boosted by NewEdge Wealth LLC

Key Points

• NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 48.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 8,402 shares valued at about $3.81 million.
• Vertex insiders have been selling shares, including EVP Amit Sachdev and EVP Mark E. Bunnage, with insiders selling 81,853 shares worth roughly $38.5 million over the last quarter.
• Analysts remain upbeat on VRTX, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a consensus Moderate Buy rating and average target of $555.17.

NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 48.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,402 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,754 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,279,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. The trade was a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 81,853 shares of company stock valued at $38,479,135. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $435.17 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $448.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $449.92. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $110.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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