Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 75,045 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 662,957 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 75,045 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.26% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $310,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $736,000. Financial Advocates Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,412 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $575,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

VRTX stock opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $483.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $451.24. The company has a market capitalization of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

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.