Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by L & S Advisors Inc

L & S Advisors Inc cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,217 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $449.32 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $346.29 and a 12-month high of $519.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.71 billion, a PE ratio of -225.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $474.80 and its 200-day moving average is $472.58.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VRTX. Bank of America lowered their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $499.12.

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.