Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 45 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,257 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $224,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the first quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,734 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,159,000 after purchasing an additional 470 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 104.5% during the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 137 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $499.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 represents a 12.71 % 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 Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $483.96 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $476.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $470.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS 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.