Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,663 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 929.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,842 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $835,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,836,550,000 after buying an additional 2,053,156 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,482,978,000 after buying an additional 444,990 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 520.1% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 381,195 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,291,000 after buying an additional 319,725 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $94,958,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. This represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 79,802 shares of company stock valued at $37,402,568. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Evercore raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, May 10th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $436.95 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $445.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $450.40. The company has a market capitalization of $110.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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.