Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Acquires 2,591 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 97.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,262 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after buying an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,237,877,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $10.68 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $488.05. 895,740 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,217,086. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $480.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $442.68. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $340.83 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The company has a market cap of $125.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total value of $3,483,664.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,703 shares of company stock worth $26,615,855. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 price objective (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.