Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $734.20 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,566,388 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,100 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.2% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $734,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the second quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the second quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the second quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total transaction of $7,555,394.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.72, for a total value of $1,075,521.60. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 30,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,198,300.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.00, for a total value of $7,555,394.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock worth $16,843,806. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $485.37 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $483.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.41. 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 cap of $125.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.85 and a 1 year high of $510.64.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The company had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm posted $3.53 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current 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.