Goodman Advisory Group LLC Sells 274 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Goodman Advisory Group LLC lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 34.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 521 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,014.3% in the 1st quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 78 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Hampshire Trust bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $887,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 8,603 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $349.00, for a total value of $3,002,447.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 56,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,738,044. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $887,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,266,135. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,486 shares of company stock worth $10,787,705. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $347.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $89.62 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.51. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $276.57 and a 12 month high of $367.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $349.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $334.14. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.06. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.40% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. 888 restated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $375.00 to $379.00 in a report on Monday, June 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Westpark Capital assumed coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.04.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.