Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Buys Shares of 6,415 Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Meeder Advisory Services purchased 6,415 Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.19 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.96% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a positive outlook, with one Strong Buy, 20 Buy, and three Hold ratings. Vertex has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $563.50.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year, although earnings of $4.73 per share narrowly missed estimates. The stock opened at $528.19, near its 52-week high of $546.17, while insiders sold 10,464 shares worth roughly $4.96 million over the past 90 days.

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,415 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $3,187,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $560.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $563.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This trade represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 16,953 shares in the company, valued at $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,464 shares of company stock valued at $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $528.19 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $486.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $464.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $546.17. The firm has a market cap of $134.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.52 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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