Choate Investment Advisors Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,466 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Spinnaker Trust increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $504.77 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $457.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -229.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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 value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.