Prospera Financial Services Inc Raises Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 430.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,951 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first 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. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $312,579,000 after purchasing an additional 6,716 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $448.01 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $472.89. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $346.29 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

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.