Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Buys New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 802 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $373,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $483.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $475.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $459.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.