Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Stake Lifted by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 101.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,124 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,090 shares during the quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $491.34 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The company has a market cap of $124.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $442.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. The trade was a 6.07% 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, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% 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 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $542.00 target price on the stock. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

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.