United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,438 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,178,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $547.55 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $500.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $468.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current 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.