Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,482 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $424.00 to $421.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $481.26 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The stock has a market cap of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $483.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.24.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 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.