Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Position Increased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 96.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 997 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 489 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 430.0% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 13,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,278,000 after buying an additional 10,951 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $662,000. Caprock Group LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 38,088 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,714,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 40,653 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $18,907,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.9% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $451.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.21 billion, a PE ratio of -226.75 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $346.29 and a one year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $475.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.74.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.