Drake & Associates LLC Has $329,000 Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Drake & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 51.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 708 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the quarter. Drake & Associates LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 804 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $374,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 410 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $498.73 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.72 billion, a PE ratio of -245.68 and a beta of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $474.92 and its 200-day moving average is $459.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26.

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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,487 shares of company stock valued at $14,657,149 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.