Calamos Wealth Management LLC Buys 1,186 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 183.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,834 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $476.31 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The company has a market capitalization of $120.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $459.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $458.56.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.