Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors Invests $2.85 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,284 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,849,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $5,030,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $213,435,000 after purchasing an additional 20,053 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $64,417,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,286,000. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,231,000 after purchasing an additional 6,942 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $454.04 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $513.97. The company has a market cap of $115.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $440.72.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.30% and a net margin of 32.94%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,057,774.95. This trade represents a 6.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total transaction of $2,394,361.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,559 shares in the company, valued at $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $580.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $570.00 to $596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.