Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,261 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,342 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Colonial Trust Co SC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the third quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 54.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $450.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $114.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $446.38 and its 200-day moving average is $450.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,630,027.22. This represents a 49.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.17.

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.