Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Has $908,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,937 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% during the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $453.55 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $117.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $341.90 and a twelve month high of $510.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $477.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.01.

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 firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total value of $2,689,860.00. Following the sale, the director now directly 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,767 shares of company stock valued at $15,768,284. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $487.23.

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.