LPL Financial LLC Has $76.94 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 191,053 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,340 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $76,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $500.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $473.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.34. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This represents a 0.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.