First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Has $1.72 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,118 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 666 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $470.28 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $335.82 and a one year high of $486.42. The stock has a market cap of $121.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.50 and a quick ratio of 3.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $450.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $428.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 39.46%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “sell” rating and issued a $371.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $448.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total transaction of $3,168,704.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,366 shares of company stock worth $13,058,787. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.