Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 808 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,338 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $456.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $462.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $452.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.1 %

VRTX stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $489.25. The company had a trading volume of 981,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,208,234. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $496.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $464.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.22. The stock has a market cap of $126.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.79, for a total value of $1,478,067.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 50,387 shares in the company, valued at $22,915,503.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,646 shares of company stock worth $14,169,923. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.