NewEdge Wealth LLC Has $2.36 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

NewEdge Wealth LLC lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,648 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,970 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at about $5,030,000. Advisory Resource Group purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after buying an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.99, for a total transaction of $749,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,132 shares in the company, valued at $23,065,538.68. This represents a 3.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total transaction of $886,327.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,585,692.17. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 100,852 shares of company stock valued at $45,787,299 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $570.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Oppenheimer upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $476.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $463.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $428.53. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current 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.