Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Acquires Shares of 1,132 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,132 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,739,600. This represents a 21.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $446.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $113.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $437.33 and a 200 day moving average of $451.81. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.