Greystone Financial Group LLC Takes $420,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Greystone Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 895 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $420,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,237,877,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $1,089,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 32,379 shares in the company, valued at $15,477,162. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,615 shares of company stock worth $21,417,310. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $468.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,090,355 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,205,450. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $483.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $448.38. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.85 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.