Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Sells 5,361 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,497 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 5,361 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $150,977,000 after acquiring an additional 324,188 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $0.22 on Monday, reaching $465.92. The company had a trading volume of 508,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,477. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.39 and a 200-day moving average of $472.09. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $346.29 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $119.99 billion, a PE ratio of -234.07 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.