Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 672,098 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $312,579,000 after acquiring an additional 6,716 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $448.01 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $115.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.13 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $475.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

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.