Vista Investment Management Takes $813,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Vista Investment Management purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,637 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 793 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $548.05 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $492.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $465.92. The company has a market cap of $139.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $374.17 and a 12-month high of $555.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.