Sowell Financial Services LLC Has $1.57 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 43.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,012 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,215 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, 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 transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. UBS Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $502.05.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $459.78 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $436.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.18. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.