Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 99.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 585 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 90,194 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.1% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,368 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $990,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 25,345 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,313,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth about $2,763,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on VRTX. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Argus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $485.37 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $341.85 and a 12-month high of $510.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $450.25. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.