Ethic Inc. Sells 11,553 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.3%, selling 11,553 shares and holding 11,437 shares, valued at approximately $5.54 million.
• Insider activity includes Director Bruce I. Sachs purchasing 5,000 shares at $389.68 each, increasing his ownership by 12.5%.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported a quarterly EPS of $4.52 beating estimates, with a revenue of $2.94 billion, reflecting an 11.3% year-over-year growth.

Ethic Inc. decreased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 50.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,437 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,553 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Quent Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 513 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 543 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 1,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Bruce I. Sachs acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.68 per share, for a total transaction of $1,948,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,535,600. The trade was a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $392.79 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $444.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $362.50 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $100.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08 and a beta of 0.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.28. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.91% and a net margin of 31.86%. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($12.83) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on VRTX shares. UBS Group set a $553.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $442.00 to $438.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $497.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.

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