361 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Acquired by AJOVista LLC

AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Baxter Bros Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 896 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $365,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $220,000. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $878,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $14,032,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 82.3% during the 4th quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,524 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.86.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $401.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,064,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. The firm has a market cap of $103.66 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $409.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $399.73. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was 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 owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 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.