Larson Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 417 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the first quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 2,792 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 193.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 50,867 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $21,263,000 after purchasing an additional 33,530 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 63.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,912 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,815,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC now owns 1,410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $464.56 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $473.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $474.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $119.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -233.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.