Ieq Capital LLC Purchases 1,877 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.8 %

VRTX stock opened at $477.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $483.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $451.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $431.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.