Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 32,529 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $93,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Founders Capital Management raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $482.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $340.83 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $481.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $444.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 43,815 shares of company stock worth $21,253,879. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.