Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 572 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,828 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 572 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 26,454 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,764,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.3% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 3,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

VRTX opened at $495.89 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $483.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $447.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $340.83 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $1,089,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 32,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,477,162. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,185 shares of company stock valued at $19,206,094. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.