Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Buys 3,071 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,716 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $4.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $494.61. 963,206 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,172,864. The company's 50-day moving average price is $475.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $470.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.90 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $495.96.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.