Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 110 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,109 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.70 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $341.90 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $476.39 and a 200 day moving average of $471.06. The firm has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VRTX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The trade was a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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 for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.