Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Position Reduced by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 72,633 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,380 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $32,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 14,036 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,363,000 after purchasing an additional 11,306 shares during the period. Calamos Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% during the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,779,000 after buying an additional 33,917 shares during the period. Sandro Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% during the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $15,625,000 after buying an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 67,197 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,464,000 after buying an additional 22,918 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $542.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $559.61.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 6,988 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $3,144,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 26,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,739,600. This trade represents a 21.13% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $477.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $121.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 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's 50-day moving average is $465.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $459.80.

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

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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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