Evergreen Capital Management LLC Buys 2,304 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 92.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,801 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,833 shares in the company, valued at $9,806,728.61. This represents a 4.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares in the company, valued at $6,643,054.65. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Maxim Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Evercore lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $437.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $111.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $459.67 and its 200-day moving average is $448.46. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.77 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.