Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,199 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth approximately $312,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,773 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $825,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 64.5% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the third quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 7,297 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $481.65 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -218.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $436.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $460.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.