Western Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,052 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,440,149,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $26,725,000. Solas Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $20,311,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $928,893,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $496.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $467.04. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69. The company has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% 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. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

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.