Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $389.68 per share, with a total value of $1,948,400.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $411.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wolfe Research cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $430.00 to $405.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $395.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $101.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $447.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $464.48. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($12.83) EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.