Independence Bank of Kentucky Buys 3,613 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 405.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,504 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,613 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $547.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $138.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $555.69. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $505.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $469.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly 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 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.52.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.