Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $4.62 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,471 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,037 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $504.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $129.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -229.44, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $457.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $462.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.