RIA Advisory Group LLC Invests $6.89 Million in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 16,925 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,887,000. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 2.0% of RIA Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Zhang Financial LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 3,305 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 920 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,989,000. Financial Symmetry Inc acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Wolfe Research started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $394.28. 1,323,798 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,246,164. The firm has a market cap of $101.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $414.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $396.74. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $316.43 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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.