BLB&B Advisors LLC Purchases 100 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 527 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,005 shares of company stock worth $5,988,066 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $470.05 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.29. 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 Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64. The company has a market capitalization of $121.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.50 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.