First Command Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Command Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 98.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 60 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,237 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $28,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the 2nd 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 period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 423 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,815 shares of company stock valued at $21,253,879. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $482.64 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $124.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.32 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $481.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $444.83. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $340.83 and a 1 year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

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.