Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 24.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,348 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,410 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,005 shares of company stock worth $1,978,465 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $438.65 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $112.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -199.39, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $482.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.29 by ($0.23). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Wolfe Research lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $515.04.

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.