Connecticut Wealth Management LLC Takes $1.17 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Connecticut Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,881 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 90.0% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 236,397 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,138,000 after purchasing an additional 112,007 shares during the last quarter. AJOVista LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $147,000. Baxter Bros Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 896 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,159 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $878,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $430.86.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $401.08. 1,064,066 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,237. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $409.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $400.14. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39.

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

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.