F&V Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,645 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,645 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,123 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 501 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. This trade represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $301,537.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,542,573.40. This trade represents a 7.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $447.26 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $468.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $443.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict 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.