Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Boosts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,297 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, 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 transaction 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 approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,615 shares of company stock worth $21,417,310. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $468.00 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.85 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $120.77 billion, a PE ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $483.31 and its 200 day moving average is $448.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.