UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Has $2.88 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $467.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $448.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.96 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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.