Driehaus Capital Management LLC Buys 235 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 25.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at $245,000. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,490 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,787 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $727,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 78,232 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $465.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.18 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $454.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock worth $15,768,284 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

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.