Summit Investment Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,902 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.2% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $512.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $484.22 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.27. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.