Allworth Financial LP Reduces Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Allworth Financial LP reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 71.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,487 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 11,316 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $515.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $511.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $374.17 and a 52-week high of $560.25.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its overweight rating and raised its price target to $560 from $515, implying approximately 8.6% potential upside from the referenced price. The target increase signals greater confidence in Vertex’s earnings outlook and pipeline. JPMorgan Vertex analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Vertex’s strong core business and raised guidance as key factors supporting the shares. The company’s latest reported quarter also showed revenue growth of 12.5% year over year to $3.33 billion, ahead of estimates, despite a marginal EPS miss. Strong Core Business, Raised Guidance Push Vertex Pharmaceuticals Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s approximately $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is viewed as a potential new growth engine. The transaction gives Vertex an immediate presence in endocrinology and could reduce its long-term dependence on the cystic fibrosis franchise by adding a new commercial platform. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated: Crinetics Acquisition Creates a New Growth Engine Beyond Cystic Fibrosis
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor conference presentations and a Q2 peer comparison provide additional updates on Vertex’s business and industry position, but the available reports do not identify a new material catalyst beyond the company’s existing financial outlook. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Cantor Fitzgerald Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares, offering no evidence of meaningful short-selling pressure; however, the data appears inconsistent and may be a reporting artifact.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,719 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,147. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $570.83.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company combines research in human genetics with drug discovery and development.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes CFTR modulator therapies such as Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the combination marketed as Trikafta in the United States and Kaftrio in other markets.