Grandfield & Dodd LLC Makes New $12.34 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Grandfield & Dodd LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 24,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,338,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% 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 sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $515.55 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $484.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $546.17. The firm has a market cap of $130.85 billion, a PE ratio of 30.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.

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.