Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 124,844 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 30,512 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $50,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 260.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,840 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,560,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 188.7% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 20,680 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,328,000 after buying an additional 13,516 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $4,501,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.7 %

VRTX stock opened at $490.47 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $487.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -222.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.