15,594 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Acquired by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 15,594 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,070,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,739,600. The trade was a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $435.93 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $507.92. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $440.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.25. The company has a market capitalization of $110.64 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.