Wealthfront Advisers LLC Purchases 32,997 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 84.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,997 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $29,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC grew 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. 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 research note on Thursday, February 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $488.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $125.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -221.97, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $451.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at $27,825,928.26. The trade was a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock worth $505,512 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by 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.