F&V Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,645 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% during the third quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $447.26 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $510.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $468.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $443.32. The company has a market cap of $113.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.98 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $126,451.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,763 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,743,185.05. The trade was a 0.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total transaction of $897,802.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 55,570 shares in the company, valued at $27,026,469.50. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.30.

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.