Peloton Wealth Strategists Invests $270,000 in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Peloton Wealth Strategists purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 575 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $270,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,008,000. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,187,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,135,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $7,213,000. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,398.5% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 18,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,490,000 after acquiring an additional 17,389 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

VRTX stock opened at $462.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $119.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04 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 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $479.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $453.57.

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

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. HC Wainwright upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.36.

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.