Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 1,172 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 64.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 659 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,172 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 277.8% in the fourth quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 68 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $485.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $123.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $533.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $462.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $459.00.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,400,102.50. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 1,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $519.00, for a total transaction of $799,779.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,001 shares in the company, valued at $5,709,519. This represents a 12.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock valued at $8,707,966 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $543.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 28th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.