Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Focus Partners Wealth

Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 17,809 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.05% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $56,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.0 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $425.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.22 billion, a PE ratio of -193.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $488.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.87.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $420.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $515.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.

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