Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Buys 720 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 328.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 939 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,213,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $21,008,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 386,648 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $161,623,000 after buying an additional 28,747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $494.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 5.7 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $499.88 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $474.73 and a 200 day moving average of $466.76. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.88%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.