Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,436 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,410,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 55.3% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,554 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 486 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Arjuna Capital grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 5,541 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $488.29 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $448.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -221.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.