Joseph Group Capital Management Acquires 2,608 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,608 shares during the quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 85.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 153,602 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $60,157,000 after buying an additional 5,288 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 10,496 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,111,000 after buying an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,806 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $535.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 3.0%

VRTX opened at $469.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $442.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.19.

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

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 160,605 shares of company stock worth $71,721,068 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.