Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,799 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $479.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.53 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. HC Wainwright upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. 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, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $487.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.