Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,085,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. ICW Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397 over the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $547.65 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $505.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $469.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $555.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.