Hartford Funds Management Co LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Hartford Funds Management Co LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 890 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 4,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 56.7% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,337 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at $894,000. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% during the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 430,638 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,750,000 after buying an additional 14,744 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $3.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $392.81. 1,727,899 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,226,496. The company has a quick ratio of 3.78, a current ratio of 3.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $320.01 and a twelve month high of $448.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $410.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $399.52. The company has a market cap of $101.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

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.