Americana Partners LLC Acquires 2,665 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Americana Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,133 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,665 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $434.52 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $507.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $441.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $450.85. The company has a market capitalization of $110.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 223 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $108,456.05. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 6,981 shares in the company, valued at $3,395,209.35. This trade represents a 3.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 21,189 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,036 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.