Centaurus Financial Inc. Invests $1.37 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,749 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $11,975,849,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $1,440,149,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $1,509,651,000. AIGH Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $26,725,000. Finally, Solas Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $20,311,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,628,850. This trade represents a 19.33% 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. Insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $547.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $138.97 billion, a PE ratio of 31.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $374.17 and a 52 week high of $555.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $500.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $468.15.

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

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.