Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Key Points

• Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC more than doubled its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake in the first quarter, buying 3,090 additional shares to bring its total to 6,124 shares worth about $2.74 million.
• Vertex reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share on revenue of $2.99 billion, with revenue rising 8.3% year over year. Analysts now expect the company to earn 17.02 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive on VRTX, with 22 analysts rating it a Buy and three a Hold, and an average price target of $555.91. Shares were trading near $491.34, close to their 12-month high of $507.92.

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 101.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,124 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 3,090 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,735,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.9% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 84,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $37,654,000 after purchasing an additional 13,971 shares during the period. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the first quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,463 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,886,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 565 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Cambient Family Office LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambient Family Office LLC now owns 705 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $491.34 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $442.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $454.24. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total transaction of $471,413.40. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,933 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,363,754.61. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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