Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases 1,097 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,239 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,763,000. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,058 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 45,342 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $18,953,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 863 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $462.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $443.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $1,089,840.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 32,379 shares in the company, valued at $15,477,162. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,086 shares of company stock worth $11,983,266. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $335.82 and a 52 week high of $486.42. The firm has a market cap of $120.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $437.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $422.03.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.