Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.18 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,812 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,192 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% in the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $447.26 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $468.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $443.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $510.77. The firm has a market cap of $113.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36.

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

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.