Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,509,206 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 41,778 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.59% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $614,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 188,387 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $76,653,000 after purchasing an additional 3,317 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,048 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,360 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after buying an additional 1,435 shares during the period. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 2,060 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $432.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Kristen Ambrose sold 1,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $577,409.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,066,242.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $7.74 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $410.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,614,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,101. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $106.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $408.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $400.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The business had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.