Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 34.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,099 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $515,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of 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 document filed 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 that occurred 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.85 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The stock has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $483.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.