Wealthfront Advisers LLC Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $20,717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Navigation Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $311,000. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the first quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 510 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $228,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the first quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 3,549 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,585,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,586,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $708,403,000 after purchasing an additional 58,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 3,014 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $486.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $461.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $458.82. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $533.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS 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 return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

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.