Richardson Financial Services Inc. Increases Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 962 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,872,586,000 after acquiring an additional 3,824,103 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.16 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.85 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. The company has a market cap of $122.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $483.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $451.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

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.