Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 13.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,090,704 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 337,751 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up 0.8% of Clearbridge Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $979,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $428,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 52,013 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 7,942 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,723,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 987 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 8,248 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,866,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.85 and a twelve month high of $510.64. 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 $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $454.54.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. 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. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $487.23.

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.