Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Buys Shares of 462 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 462 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,080,296,000 after buying an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $464.92 on Friday. 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 Incorporated has a 1-year low of $341.85 and a 1-year high of $510.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $482.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $451.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.