Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $2.05 Million Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 53% in the second quarter, selling 4,645 shares and retaining 4,126 shares valued at approximately $2.05 million. Institutional investors collectively own 90.96% of VRTX.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year, though earnings per share of $4.73 narrowly missed the $4.74 consensus estimate. The stock opened at $516.34, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $570.83.
• Company insiders sold 3,637 shares worth approximately $1.87 million over the past three months, including sales by executives Ourania Tatsis and Carmen Bozic under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 53.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 4,645 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VRTX. XY Planning Network Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $373,000. Hudock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at about $233,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,580 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $35,059,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 23,131 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,490,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $516.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $374.17 and a one year high of $560.25. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $511.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $473.92.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.09% and a net margin of 35.00%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $570.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. This trade represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 3,637 shares of company stock worth $1,874,834 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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 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.

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