Grandfield & Dodd LLC Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,231 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price target for the company. Maxim Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $447.54 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $439.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $451.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $507.92. The firm has a market cap of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total value of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,717 shares of company stock worth $5,309,945. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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