Westerkirk Capital Inc. Invests $1.25 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Westerkirk Capital Inc. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,247,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $491.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of VRTX opened at $433.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $417.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $424.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96 and a beta of 0.36. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 23.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 53,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.72, for a total transaction of $23,624,354.88. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,588,738.72. This trade represents a 69.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.