Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $486.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $464.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $119.97 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $482.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $451.87. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.85 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.