Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $6.11 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,128 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 601 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $483.96 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $476.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share 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.