Caprock Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1,214.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,930 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,045 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 0.7% of Caprock Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $17,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Stephens Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 15,202 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 106,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,767,484. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,615 shares of company stock valued at $21,417,310 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $468.00 on Friday. 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 one year low of $341.85 and a one year high of $510.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $483.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $448.57. The company has a market capitalization of $120.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.40.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.53 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.85 EPS 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.