Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,147 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,676,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,479,011,000 after purchasing an additional 394,338 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after purchasing an additional 244,336 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $480.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,005 shares of company stock worth $5,988,066. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $474.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market capitalization of $122.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $510.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $475.63 and its 200 day moving average is $461.23.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.53 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.