11,500 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Bought by DCF Advisers LLC

DCF Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 11,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,712,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.0% of DCF Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 986 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the second quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $552.06 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $488.69 and a 200-day moving average of $464.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $374.17 and a fifty-two week high of $553.69. The company has a market capitalization of $140.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.30.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. The trade was a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was 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. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.