Albion Financial Group UT Buys 57 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,395 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $462.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $448.61.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,366 shares of company stock valued at $13,058,787 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $470.28 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $447.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.70. The stock has a market cap of $121.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $335.82 and a 12 month high of $486.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.66 by $1.10. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.