Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,868 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 335 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares in the company, valued at $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,710 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,206. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $475.08 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $474.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.87. The stock has a market cap of $122.62 billion, a PE ratio of -234.03 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $477.00 to $562.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $492.50.

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.