Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Acquires Shares of 486 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $450.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $465.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $460.27. The company has a market capitalization of $115.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -204.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $512.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $515.04.

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.