Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,535 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,225 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the second quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the second quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 9,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,174,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Davidson Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the second quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,993 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,757,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 550 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $173,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 461 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $356.84 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.89 and a current ratio of 4.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $360.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $350.73. The firm has a market cap of $91.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.45. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $282.21 and a 1 year high of $387.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.53 by $0.55. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 22.79% and a net margin of 35.94%. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $384.00 to $399.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $359.00 to $364.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $350.00 to $347.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $887,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $887,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 12,962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.00, for a total value of $4,847,788.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 22,425 shares in the company, valued at $8,386,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,411 shares of company stock valued at $18,511,525 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.