Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,093 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,049 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.4% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,216,865 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,484,293,000 after buying an additional 243,088 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 16,553,281 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,482,978,000 after acquiring an additional 444,990 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 77.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,689,059 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,836,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053,156 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,522,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,771,226,000 after acquiring an additional 144,266 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.4% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,276,927 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $891,744,000 after acquiring an additional 95,565 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 58,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $468.83, for a total value of $27,479,532.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,934 shares in the company, valued at $27,630,027.22. This trade represents a 49.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. This represents a 6.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $590.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, February 13th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $591.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $577.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $433.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $110.01 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $469.10 and a 200 day moving average of $442.61. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The company had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.