Paradigm Financial Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Paradigm Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 227.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,896 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,399 shares during the quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,644,492,000 after purchasing an additional 87,397 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,605,146,000 after purchasing an additional 147,248 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after purchasing an additional 89,217 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $978,388,000 after purchasing an additional 131,539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,016,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $701,315,000 after purchasing an additional 67,451 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $397.48. 682,467 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The stock has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $411.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $398.93. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $320.01 and a 1 year high of $448.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.