SteelPeak Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

SteelPeak Wealth LLC cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 97.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 559 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,936 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,237,877,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

VRTX traded down $0.41 on Friday, hitting $471.59. The company had a trading volume of 116,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,212,378. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $480.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $441.98. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $340.83 and a 1 year high of $510.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $121.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.63 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total transaction of $715,205.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,467,918. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Edward Morrow Atkinson III sold 7,288 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.00, for a total transaction of $3,483,664.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,616. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 1,565 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.00, for a total value of $715,205.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 121,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,467,918. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,703 shares of company stock valued at $26,615,855. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.