Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 240 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,999 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after buying an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during 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 buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in 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 period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,237,877,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $8.40 on Wednesday, reaching $465.89. 1,649,992 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,223,560. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $480.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $440.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $340.83 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.36%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,423 shares of company stock valued at $25,528,865. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on VRTX. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.