Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Acquired by Hartford Funds Management Co LLC

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 96.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.1% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $555.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $436.58 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $445.08 and its 200-day moving average is $450.71. The company has a market cap of $110.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.06 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at $8,810,239.58. This trade represents a 5.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Jonathan Biller sold 945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $459,600.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,643,054.65. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,802 shares of company stock worth $37,402,568. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.