Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Has $3.98 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 292.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,151 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,565 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $463.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $433.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $426.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup upped their price target 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. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.