Tidal Investments LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Key Points

• Tidal Investments increased its Vertex Pharmaceuticals stake by 3.9% in the second quarter, adding 3,604 shares to own 95,685 shares valued at approximately $47.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 90.96% of VRTX.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.52. Recent firms raised their targets, including Goldman Sachs at $653.
• Vertex reported quarterly revenue of $3.33 billion, up 12.5% year over year and above estimates, though earnings per share narrowly missed expectations. Executives sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, with insiders selling 8,719 shares worth $4.17 million over the past three months.

Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,685 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,604 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $47,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $569.52.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 45,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan McKechnie sold 1,541 shares of the business'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 value of $799,779.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% 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 three months, insiders sold 8,719 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,147. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $521.12 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $511.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $472.59. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $560.25. The company has a market capitalization of $132.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.74 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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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