Avitas Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Avitas Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTXFree Report) by 7.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,180 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $475.08 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -234.03 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.87. 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 (NASDAQ:VRTXGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.53 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $492.50.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on VRTX

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,710 shares of company stock worth $3,298,206. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)

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