Wealth Science Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 2,036 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Wealth Science Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 0.5% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after acquiring an additional 243,088 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,482,978,000 after acquiring an additional 444,990 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after acquiring an additional 144,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $891,744,000 after acquiring an additional 95,565 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $435.10 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $510.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $459.07 and a 200 day moving average of $448.37. The company has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 1,925 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $886,327.75. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,585,692.17. This trade represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,431 shares of company stock valued at $37,875,167. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.