Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 151.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 80,587 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,544 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $31,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,339 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the third quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 9,428 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the last quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 65.8% during the third quarter. Westerkirk Capital Inc. now owns 4,642 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 35.1% in the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 2,898 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the third quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 146,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $57,400,000 after purchasing an additional 5,273 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Mark E. Bunnage sold 2,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.43, for a total value of $930,529.03. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 12,914 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,945,993.02. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 100,852 shares of company stock worth $45,787,299. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $476.90 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68. The company has a market cap of $121.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.11 and a beta of 0.30. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $428.83.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.19 billion during 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 was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.98 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $590.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $606.00 to $607.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. HC Wainwright set a $591.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.00.

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.