Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 1,831 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,729 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $8,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total value of $287,570.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 8,719 shares of company stock worth $4,174,147 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $515.44 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $511.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $473.15. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $374.17 and a 12 month high of $560.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.32.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.74 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.23 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.00% and a return on equity of 23.09%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 16.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $500.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $665.00 price objective for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $436.00 to $442.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $570.83.

More Vertex Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Vertex Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its overweight rating and raised its price target to $560 from $515, implying approximately 8.6% potential upside from the referenced price. The target increase signals greater confidence in Vertex’s earnings outlook and pipeline. JPMorgan Vertex analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Vertex’s strong core business and raised guidance as key factors supporting the shares. The company’s latest reported quarter also showed revenue growth of 12.5% year over year to $3.33 billion, ahead of estimates, despite a marginal EPS miss. Strong Core Business, Raised Guidance Push Vertex Pharmaceuticals Higher
• Positive Sentiment: Vertex’s approximately $10 billion acquisition of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is viewed as a potential new growth engine. The transaction gives Vertex an immediate presence in endocrinology and could reduce its long-term dependence on the cystic fibrosis franchise by adding a new commercial platform. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated: Crinetics Acquisition Creates a New Growth Engine Beyond Cystic Fibrosis
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor conference presentations and a Q2 peer comparison provide additional updates on Vertex’s business and industry position, but the available reports do not identify a new material catalyst beyond the company’s existing financial outlook. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Cantor Fitzgerald Conference Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short interest was zero shares, offering no evidence of meaningful short-selling pressure; however, the data appears inconsistent and may be a reporting artifact.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.