Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Acquired by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,503 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brookstone Capital Management raised 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 during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 216.3% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 4,830 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $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 during the first quarter worth about $2,763,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 640.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,443 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $431.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $486.36.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $464.92 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $482.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $451.87. The company has a market capitalization of $119.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.17 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly 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 for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total transaction of $1,075,521.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 30,099 shares in the company, 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. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.