J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $396,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 845 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 63 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $483.77 and a 200-day moving average of $451.24. The stock has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23 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 results 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.