Nwam LLC Purchases 1,294 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Nwam LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,332 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,294 shares during the period. Nwam LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $477.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $121.09 billion, a PE ratio of 28.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $533.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $460.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $458.65.

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. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.61.

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.