Montchanin Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,932 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Montchanin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,095,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 3.1% of Montchanin Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 17,770 shares of company stock valued at $8,238,744 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $533.67. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $470.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $460.33.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.