Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,422 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $990,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.3% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 79,117 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $37,084,000 after buying an additional 3,998 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $74,213,000. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $21,008,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $4.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $474.30. 206,244 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,626. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $461.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other 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 value of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,320,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $545.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $492.92.

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.