Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,961 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 14,724 shares during the period. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.3% in the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 992 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 399 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $167,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 1,251 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 12,630 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,279,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 7,731 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded up $14.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $516.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,259,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,674. The company's fifty day moving average is $475.40 and its 200-day moving average is $468.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $133.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -259.67 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price target (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.96.

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.