Assetmark Inc. Has $26.77 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 33.7% in the first quarter, selling 30,529 shares and ending with 59,954 shares valued at about $26.77 million.
• Vertex reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $4.47, which beat estimates, while revenue came in at $2.99 billion and rose 8.3% year over year.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on VRTX, with several firms raising price targets and analysts assigning a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average target price of $559.61.

Assetmark Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 33.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,954 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 30,529 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $485.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $533.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $462.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The business had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.06 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.

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