Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Purchased by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 181.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 41,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,931 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cannell & Spears LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $490.39 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $533.67. The company has a market capitalization of $124.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $467.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $459.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $559.61.

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.