Americana Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Americana Partners LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 10.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,248 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Interchange Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $698,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 558 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 1,054 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth $164,000. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 3,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX traded down $5.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $470.88. The stock had a trading volume of 394,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,375. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a current ratio of 2.52. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $341.90 and a 52 week high of $510.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $474.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $463.95.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $476.75, for a total transaction of $1,086,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 23,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,088,728.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,710 shares of company stock valued at $3,298,206 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.