LPL Financial LLC Acquires 12,696 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,878 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 12,696 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $125,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust Co raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,176,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,745 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $785,250.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 21,015 shares in the company, valued at $9,456,750. This represents a 7.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 13,462 shares of company stock valued at $6,095,195 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.3%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $435.71 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $437.22 and its 200-day moving average is $452.25. The company has a market capitalization of $110.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.