Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC Sells 5,881 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 94.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,881 shares during the quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Mile Advisory grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.4% in the second quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 642 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.1% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 845 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $418,000. Mainsail Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 415,060 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $194,547,000 after acquiring an additional 11,751 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $485.37 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $483.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.