Creative Planning Acquires 3,998 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Creative Planning boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,998 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $37,084,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after acquiring an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $462.88 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $479.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $454.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.85 and a 52-week high of $510.64. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.