Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,120 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $25,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.4 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $504.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $129.62 billion, a PE ratio of -229.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $457.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $461.89.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.