Summit Financial LLC Raises Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,823 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,154 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $11,740,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 6,422 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,586,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $483.49 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $124.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -219.77, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average is $479.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.81.

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 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%. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

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.