Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 34.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,099 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of 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 valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Drive Wealth Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on VRTX. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. 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 for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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 on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $124.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $483.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $451.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.