Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Acquires New Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,531 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $600,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 171.0% during the first quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 3,477 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after buying an additional 2,194 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $144,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.1% in the first quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 3,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 546,904 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $265,150,000 after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.90 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $435.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.42.

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.