Holderness Investments Co. Acquires 130 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Holderness Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,266 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after acquiring an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $486.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’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 transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $464.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $482.66 and its 200 day moving average is $452.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64.

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

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.