Focus Partners Wealth Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Focus Partners Wealth lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,846 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,369 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $60,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after buying an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after buying an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $450.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $437.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $452.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.33 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,133 shares of company stock valued at $4,973,106. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

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.