Sfmg LLC Has $3.14 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,721 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 982 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. HealthInvest Partners AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,715,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,722 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,108,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 445,187 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $181,142,000 after acquiring an additional 18,186 shares during the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 5,135 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Maxim Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $393.94. The stock had a trading volume of 250,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,240,388. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $415.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $396.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $316.43 and a fifty-two week high of $448.40. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $101.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.