Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,309 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,167 shares during the quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $15,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,806,728.61. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $440.05 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $510.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $463.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $446.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.