Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stake Cut by Axa S.A.

Axa S.A. decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 193,337 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 36,554 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $90,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $461.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $481.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $453.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Argus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

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.