Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Makes New $7.21 Million Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 15,388 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,213,000.

Other institutional investors have also 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 during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $487.34, for a total transaction of $1,111,135.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 27,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,557,311.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $463.15 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.54 billion, a PE ratio of 30.06 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $480.50 and its 200-day moving average is $453.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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.