Cooper Financial Group Acquires 3,021 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Cooper Financial Group increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 130.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,021 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 118.8% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 70 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 345.0% in the 3rd quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 89 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $577.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total transaction of $27,479,532.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,630,027.22. The trade was a 49.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,391,225. The trade was a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $454.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $469.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $440.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $513.97.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.