Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 376 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $176,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised 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 valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
VRTX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance
Shares of VRTX opened at $485.37 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $483.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $450.41. The company has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX – Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals
In other 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 transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
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.
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