IHT Wealth Management LLC Invests $644,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

IHT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after buying an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after buying an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after buying an additional 9,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,683,000 after buying an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $295.77 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.14. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $233.01 and a one year high of $325.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 4.66 and a current ratio of 4.83. The company has a market cap of $76.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.49.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.65. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 27.78% and a net margin of 37.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $286.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. SVB Securities dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $313.00 to $342.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.10.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 1,304 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $399,024.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 68,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,005,370. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 5,034 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.47, for a total value of $1,447,123.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 56,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,258,153.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 1,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.00, for a total value of $399,024.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,645 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,005,370. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,916 shares of company stock valued at $12,466,970. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a global biotechnology company, which engages in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing small molecule drugs for patients with serious diseases. The firm focuses on development and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases including viral infections such as influenza and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological disorders including pain and multiple sclerosis.