Assetmark Inc. Sells 30,529 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Assetmark Inc. lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 33.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,954 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30,529 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $26,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 650 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 545 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 1,155 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 730 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,279,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.99, for a total transaction of $787,485.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,793,071.79. This represents a 3.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 worth $8,707,966 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $485.65 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $533.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $462.54 and its 200 day moving average is $459.00. The firm has a market cap of $123.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.80, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29.

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

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.