Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,530,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,673.1% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,802,000 after buying an additional 7,713 shares during the last quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,468,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $473.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $474.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.