Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,361 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $756,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $449.32 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The firm has a market cap of $115.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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