J. Goldman & Co LP Makes New Investment in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

J. Goldman & Co LP bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 12,311 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,115,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 414.1% during 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 last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.1% in the first quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 77,886 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,779,000 after purchasing an additional 33,917 shares during the last quarter. Sandro Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $1,436,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.9% in the first quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. now owns 34,991 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,625,000 after purchasing an additional 3,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Global Investments purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,568,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 4,062 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,827,900.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 16,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,628,850. This represents a 19.33% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,464 shares of company stock worth $4,959,397. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $563.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $552.85 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $496.59 and a 200 day moving average of $467.04. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $374.17 and a 1-year high of $555.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.31 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.86 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.