Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC Invests $505,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 1,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $505,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $547.29 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $555.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $498.36 and a 200-day moving average of $467.66.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.