Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Purchases New Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $1,593,974,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,089,063 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 214.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 763,703 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $299,097,000 after acquiring an additional 520,949 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,228,000 after buying an additional 424,808 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. UBS Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $462.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $117.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $435.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $426.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is 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.