Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,717 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 203 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.4% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $32,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 21,805,770 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,872,586,000 after buying an additional 3,824,103 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,237,877,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2,272.6% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 434,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $176,946,000 after purchasing an additional 416,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 196.0% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 581,018 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $236,410,000 after purchasing an additional 384,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $452.57.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $488.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,471,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,215,385. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.29 and a current ratio of 3.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.39. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $496.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $467.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $433.98.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.66 by $1.10. The company had revenue of $2.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.58 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 39.46% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $448.00, for a total value of $3,168,704.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,920,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,350 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $439.11, for a total transaction of $1,031,908.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 53,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,502,484.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,646 shares of company stock worth $14,169,923 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.