Claro Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Claro Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,425 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,213,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $21,008,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $483.00 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $475.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.