First Horizon Advisors Inc. Purchases 78 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after acquiring an additional 87,397 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after buying an additional 89,217 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after buying an additional 131,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,016,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $701,315,000 after buying an additional 67,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $401.08 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $409.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $399.73. The stock has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their target price for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total transaction of $201,979.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,174,603.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.