Raymond James & Associates Has $133.24 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 318,757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 23,660 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned approximately 0.12% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $133,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 24.1% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 4,126 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 56.7% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,337 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $894,000. First Pacific Financial raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.1% in the third quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 783 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the third quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 430,638 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $149,750,000 after purchasing an additional 14,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total transaction of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares in the company, valued at $11,596,934.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on VRTX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $446.00 to $472.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $371.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $498.00 to $466.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $429.45.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX traded down $3.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $392.81. 1,727,899 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,496. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $410.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $399.52. The company has a market capitalization of $101.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.