Sound Income Strategies LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) by 3,200.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 396 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 384 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. American National Bank lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 94.7% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 111 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Yuchun Lee sold 442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.17, for a total transaction of $137,979.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,875 shares in the company, valued at $585,318.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Yuchun Lee sold 442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.17, for a total value of $137,979.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,875 shares in the company, valued at $585,318.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.55, for a total value of $347,072.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,303 shares in the company, valued at $2,099,977.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,916 shares of company stock worth $12,466,970. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $295.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.83, a quick ratio of 4.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $299.14. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $233.01 and a twelve month high of $325.19.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.11 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 37.20% and a return on equity of 27.78%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 12.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 19th. SVB Leerink decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $374.00 to $365.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group assumed coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $311.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $296.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $327.10.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a global biotechnology company, which engages in the business of discovering, developing, manufacturing, and commercializing small molecule drugs for patients with serious diseases. The firm focuses on development and commercializing therapies for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases including viral infections such as influenza and bacterial infections, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and neurological disorders including pain and multiple sclerosis.