SageGuard Financial Group LLC Has $2.04 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

SageGuard Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 43.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,578 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,525 shares during the quarter. SageGuard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,417,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $956,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,247,566 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $880,237,000 after purchasing an additional 92,402 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 447,169 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $202,612,000 after purchasing an additional 86,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,341 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,421,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $541.00 to $543.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Maxim Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock opened at $491.34 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $442.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $454.24. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $507.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.51% and a return on equity of 23.86%. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,446.52. This trade represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 1,020 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $462.17, for a total transaction of $471,413.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,363,754.61. The trade was a 6.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 16,215 shares of company stock worth $7,272,420 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.