Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,674 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 518 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 80,467 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,424,000 after purchasing an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 695 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 160 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MN Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.4% during the third quarter. MN Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,728 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $566.00 to $520.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $453.20 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $116.71 billion, a PE ratio of -227.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $435.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $461.79.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.