Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,186 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded down $15.00 on Friday, reaching $483.73. 449,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,168,875. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $474.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.08. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.