LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Sells 1,150 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,380 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for about 1.4% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 206.3% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 4,751 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,737 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 590 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 69.4% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,728,000 after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 44,090 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,756,000 after purchasing an additional 9,761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 14,114 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,683,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $351.07. The stock had a trading volume of 431,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,600. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 4.14 and a quick ratio of 3.96. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $276.57 and a 52-week high of $367.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $349.43 and its 200 day moving average is $334.64. The firm has a market cap of $90.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.51.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.51, for a total value of $83,613.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,515,406.86. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.51, for a total transaction of $83,613.42. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,515,406.86. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Reshma Kewalramani sold 7,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $2,778,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 118,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,211,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,883 shares of company stock valued at $7,785,258. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VRTX. Westpark Capital began coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $375.00 to $379.00 in a report on Monday, June 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $325.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $367.04.

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 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.