Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Stock Position Cut by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 8.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,634 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,818 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $39,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $805,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 99,607 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $40,529,000 after acquiring an additional 11,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $462.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $119.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $453.85. 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 Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.85 and a 52 week high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.