Highland Capital Management LLC Buys 35 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,731 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at $13,557,311.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 27,819 shares in the company, valued at $13,557,311.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 30,646 shares of company stock worth $14,169,923. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $452.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $3.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $488.74. 839,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,089,124. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $461.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $431.90. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $340.20 and a one year high of $496.71. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $126.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.16 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.