Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Lifeworks Advisors LLC

Lifeworks Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,853 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises 1.1% of Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Lifeworks Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 14.6% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,338 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,649,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 70,911 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,642,000 after acquiring an additional 6,937 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GM Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $224,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $7.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $487.46. The stock had a trading volume of 156,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,168,280. The firm has a market cap of $125.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -248.55 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.90 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $476.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $470.48.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

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.