Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 3,580 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 141.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 80,467 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.5% in the third quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $222,000. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 560 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,711 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $459.00 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $435.69 and a 200-day moving average of $460.99. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.