Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Atria Investments Inc

Key Points

• Atria Investments Inc increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 2,342 shares to bring its total to 28,261 shares worth about $12.8 million.
• Vertex also saw continued interest from other institutional investors, and hedge funds and institutions now own 90.96% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on VRTX: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $555.17, while the company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations with EPS of $4.47.

Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,261 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,342 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.6%

VRTX stock opened at $450.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $446.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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