MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Has $11.16 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,495 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $11,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC now owns 33,142 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,980,000 after purchasing an additional 10,252 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 379,371 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $148,577,000 after buying an additional 49,980 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 555 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 4.4%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $468.58 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $440.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $426.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $118.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 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.