UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $2.76 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 48.8% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 8,402 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,809,000 after buying an additional 2,754 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 483 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $224,000. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 15,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,246,000 after buying an additional 2,012 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,290 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares in the company, valued at $5,945,993.02. The trade was a 13.53% 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, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 81,853 shares of company stock valued at $38,479,135. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $429.82 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $450.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $449.78. The stock has a market cap of $109.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

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