Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 489 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 96.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market cap of $116.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -226.75 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $475.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.