First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 525 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Advisory Resource Group lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,352.3% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $24,280,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at $2,187,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $490.23. The stock had a trading volume of 350,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,324,992. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $487.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $465.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of -222.83, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.