Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Boosted by Csenge Advisory Group

Csenge Advisory Group raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Csenge Advisory Group’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 11,727 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,078,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the third quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,908 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 237.5% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 60,156 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $20,919,000 after purchasing an additional 42,333 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.2% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 27,669 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,622,000 after purchasing an additional 3,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,742 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,908,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $492.66. The company had a trading volume of 344,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,214,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $457.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $430.72. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $340.20 and a 12 month high of $495.23. The firm has a market cap of $127.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.98, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $452.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $1,089,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 32,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,477,162. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 28,366 shares of company stock worth $13,058,787 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.