Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Brighton Jones LLC

Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 280.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 3,171 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during 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 buying an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.92 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $482.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $451.87. 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 market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm 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%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was 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 directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.