Cravens & Co Advisors LLC Sells 68 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cravens & Co Advisors LLC reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,208 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.8% of Cravens & Co Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,714 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 15,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the third quarter. Baldwin Investment Management LLC now owns 11,891 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,530,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,673.1% during the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 8,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,802,000 after acquiring an additional 7,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Street Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $120.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $473.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $474.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $346.29 and a 52-week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $504.38.

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.