Jones Financial Companies Lllp Increases Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,124 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 55.5% in the third quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 8,544 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,050 shares during the period. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the third quarter. Midwest Professional Planners LTD. now owns 3,496 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 1,764 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,822 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.92 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $457.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.10. The company has a market cap of $121.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.