Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Boosted by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,129 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,967 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,231,000 after acquiring an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,852 shares of company stock valued at $45,787,299. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright set a $591.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $470.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.68 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $462.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.