Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL Invests $1.59 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,588,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 4,470 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,220,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 793 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $885,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,176,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.0%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $555.69. The company has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $496.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $467.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.52 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,827,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.