Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. Acquires 43 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,313,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,263 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,341,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 5,763 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,321,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $492.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $476.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.52 billion, a PE ratio of -223.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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.