Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 336 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,316 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 336 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 636 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,193,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,001 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 423 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.9% during the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 326 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $153,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. 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. 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 research note on Monday, August 5th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $2.49 on Friday, hitting $468.45. 791,680 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,222,840. The company has a market capitalization of $120.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.40 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $340.83 and a one year high of $510.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $481.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $440.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,703 shares of company stock valued at $26,615,855. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.