Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,709 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $3.00 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $495.26. The company had a trading volume of 774,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,785. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $503.99. The firm has a market cap of $127.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.83 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.46, for a total value of $1,113,688.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $12,474,779.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,128 shares of company stock worth $22,839,005. 0.20% of the stock is 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.