GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases 40 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 64.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 40 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $476.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The stock has a market cap of $122.95 billion, a PE ratio of -234.67 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $475.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.27. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $477.00 to $562.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

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.