St. Louis Trust Co Invests $552,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

St. Louis Trust Co bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,218 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Archer Investment Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 74 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $434.52 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $507.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $441.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $110.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction 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 $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,189 shares of company stock valued at $9,923,036. 0.20% of the stock is 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.