Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,324 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 13,971 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $37,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal 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, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 16,215 shares of company stock valued at $7,272,420 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $491.34 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $124.70 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $442.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $454.24.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.