B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 102 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,237,877,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $176,946,000 after buying an additional 416,545 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 directly 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total value of $1,031,908.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,128 shares of company stock valued at $22,839,005 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded down $6.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $495.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,350,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,120. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $507.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.46.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on 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. Guggenheim raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $460.52.

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.