PKS Advisory Services LLC Invests $240,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 595 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 99 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $900,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Spinnaker Trust boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 1,235 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Ten investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.38, 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $471.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.08. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.