HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Has $1.45 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,452,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $484.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -220.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $477.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total transaction of $251,930.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $508.65.

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.