GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Has $1.87 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

by · The Markets Daily

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) by 34.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,772 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,513 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.42.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $459.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $432.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.90. The stock has a market cap of $116.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.38 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

(Free Report)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.

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