Simplify Asset Management Inc. Has $3.54 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Simplify Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 54.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,936 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 9,556 shares during the period. Simplify Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% during the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Weiss Ratings cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $542.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $571.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $555.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $528.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $449.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $456.46. The stock has a market cap of $134.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $529.14.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $423.73, for a total transaction of $134,746.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,924 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,446.52. This represents a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total value of $469,222.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 15,833 shares of company stock valued at $7,120,702 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.