SVB Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 103.7% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 55 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $615.00 to $617.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $653.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.52.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $514.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $511.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $472.86. The firm has a market cap of $130.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.95, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $374.17 and a 1 year high of $560.25.

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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total value of $787,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,793,071.79. The trade was a 3.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 8,719 shares of company stock valued at $4,174,147 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated is a global biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, the company combines research in human genetics with drug discovery and development.

Vertex is best known for its cystic fibrosis portfolio, which includes CFTR modulator therapies such as Kalydeco, Orkambi, Symdeko and the combination marketed as Trikafta in the United States and Kaftrio in other markets.