Perennial Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Perennial Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 31.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 449 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $483.77 and a 200 day moving average of $451.24. The firm has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.