RFG Advisory LLC Grows Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 26.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 227 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after buying an additional 87,397 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,409,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,700,938,000 after purchasing an additional 26,538 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after purchasing an additional 89,217 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $978,388,000 after purchasing an additional 131,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $707,950,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $508.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last three months. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $396.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $416.35 and a 200 day moving average of $395.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $316.43 and a 12-month high of $448.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current 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.