SageGuard Financial Group LLC Makes New $3.67 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

SageGuard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 8,103 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,674,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,585,692.17. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $439.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $460.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $448.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.89 EPS for the current year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.