Joseph Group Capital Management Has $2.26 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Joseph Group Capital Management lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,817 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up approximately 1.2% of Joseph Group Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Joseph Group Capital Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,892 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.8% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 21,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,887,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 280.9% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,015,000 after acquiring an additional 3,171 shares in the last quarter. Delaney Dennis R lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 131.4% in the second quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 2,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 34.9% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 1,296 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $123.32 billion, a PE ratio of 31.01 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.52 and a quick ratio of 2.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $483.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.58. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.85 and a one year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The firm’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 posted $3.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.