Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC Has $2.09 Million Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 30.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,617 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,922 shares during the quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sandy Spring Bank lifted 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 period. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Hampshire Trust acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 90.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $385.00 to $389.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. 888 reaffirmed a “reiterates” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $312.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.04.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 2,500 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,637 shares in the company, valued at $17,266,135. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.51, for a total value of $83,613.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,515,406.86. 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. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock opened at $343.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 3.96, a current ratio of 4.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $349.49 and a 200-day moving average of $333.75. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $276.57 and a 12-month high of $367.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.47 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 35.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.26 earnings per share 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 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.