Principal Street Partners LLC Has $1.41 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Principal Street Partners LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 26.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 629 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $460.33 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $346.29 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market cap of $118.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $474.04.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.