Bensler LLC Has $4.32 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bensler LLC lowered its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Norden Group LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 714.3% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $356,000. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.7% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 9,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,076,000 after acquiring an additional 2,348 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $502.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $474.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.95. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.