Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Purchases 10,252 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,142 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,252 shares during the quarter. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $12,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the second quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the second quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 4.4%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $468.58 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $440.40 and its 200 day moving average is $426.49. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $118.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Citigroup boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.