Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Bought by Pallas Capital Advisors LLC

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 46.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,241 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the third quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% in the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total value of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.6%

VRTX stock opened at $433.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $110.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $442.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.30.

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.