Centaurus Financial Inc. Has $735,000 Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $455.31 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.95.

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.