Welch & Forbes LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 188,387 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.2% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC owned 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $76,653,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,644,492,000 after purchasing an additional 87,397 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after acquiring an additional 147,248 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after acquiring an additional 131,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,016,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $701,315,000 after acquiring an additional 67,451 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.86.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 480 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.79, for a total value of $201,979.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,174,603.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $402.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,462,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,670. The company has a market capitalization of $104.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $408.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $400.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $320.01 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $1.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.