Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,141 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Donoghue Forlines LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 168.4% during the 1st quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 3,757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,570,000 after purchasing an additional 2,357 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,998 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,671,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 591 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,447 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 7,785 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,254,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the business’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 sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,646 shares of company stock worth $14,169,923 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $1.52 on Wednesday, hitting $490.50. 30,955 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,201,245. The firm has a market cap of $126.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $464.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $433.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $496.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. 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 for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.