Wealth Science Advisors LLC Takes $923,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Wealth Science Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.5% of Wealth Science Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,417,000. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,030,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $956,000. Finally, Advisory Resource Group purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,286,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $596.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $555.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $435.10 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $510.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $448.37. The company has a market cap of $110.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.77 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Joy Liu sold 978 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.17, for a total value of $439,288.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,806,728.61. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,431 shares of company stock worth $37,875,167. 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.