809 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by Investment Advisory Group LLC

Investment Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 809 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,240,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after purchasing an additional 9,761 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $394.48. The stock had a trading volume of 220,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,511. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $415.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $396.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $316.43 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.