Gibbs Wealth Management Boosts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Gibbs Wealth Management grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 357.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,647 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,412 shares during the quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,316,344 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,850,544,000 after buying an additional 763,063 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,689,539 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,299,569,000 after acquiring an additional 83,539 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,733,596 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,146,041,000 after acquiring an additional 44,537 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,356,766 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,440,149,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $436.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $473.09 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $464.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $459.67. The stock has a market cap of $120.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.