1,424 Shares in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Purchased by Whalen Wealth Management Inc.

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,424 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,579,000 after acquiring an additional 6,716 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $467.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $476.31 and its 200-day moving average is $472.56. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $346.29 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average 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.