Sheets Smith Wealth Management Buys Shares of 726 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 726 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. abrdn plc grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,410,000 after buying an additional 384,730 shares during the period. BSN CAPITAL PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $81,378,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $978,388,000 after purchasing an additional 131,539 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21,750.1% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 115,150 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $46,853,000 after purchasing an additional 114,623 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Maxim Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $405.97 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $320.01 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.98, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $408.44 and a 200-day moving average of $400.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.