Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Custom Index Systems LLC

Custom Index Systems LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,357 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.5% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $805,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 385 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $962,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $468.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.85 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $483.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction 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 $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,615 shares of company stock valued at $21,417,310 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.