Global Retirement Partners LLC Grows Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 86.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 shares of 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 lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $897,802.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,570 shares in the company, valued at $27,026,469.50. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,189 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,036. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $434.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $441.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $450.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The company has a market capitalization of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 earnings per share for the current 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.