Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Has $516,000 Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,109 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $465.70 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $476.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $471.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.90 and a 12-month high of $519.88.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $575.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.