Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,666 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,383 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pingora Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $558.88 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $403.16 and a 12 month high of $563.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $523.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $479.47. The firm has a market cap of $141.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.28.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Barclays raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $560.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $579.81.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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 applies expertise in the science of human disease to discover therapies that address significant unmet medical needs.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko/Symkevi, and Trikafta/Kaftrio. These medicines target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis for patients with specific mutations in the CFTR gene.