Janney Capital Management LLC Sells 491 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Janney Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,407 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the quarter. Janney Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Telos Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,073 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,133,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 29,897 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,999 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 124,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $50,535,000 after acquiring an additional 8,866 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $448.61.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction 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 through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,366 shares of company stock worth $13,058,787. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX traded up $4.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $474.57. 848,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,139,765. The firm has a market cap of $122.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $452.07 and its 200 day moving average is $428.77. The company has a quick ratio of 3.29, a current ratio of 3.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $335.82 and a one year high of $486.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.