Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $479.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -217.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $437.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.90. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS 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.