Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 639 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,174 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 639 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 57,867 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,913,000 after purchasing an additional 14,194 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the third quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.3% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,264 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after buying an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.9% during the third quarter. Draper Asset Management LLC now owns 6,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 133.8% in the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,272 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $464.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $473.08 and a 200 day moving average of $474.28. The company has a market capitalization of $119.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -233.45 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its 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 return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.