Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is Renaissance Technologies LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Renaissance Technologies LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,566,388 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,100 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 1.2% of Renaissance Technologies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.61% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $734,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Groesbeck Investment Management Corp NJ now owns 1,794 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,586 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,932 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $485.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $125.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $341.85 and a fifty-two week high of $510.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $483.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.14 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $480.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $371.00 to $376.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $465.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.91.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 5,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $508.00, for a total transaction of $2,689,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,320,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,047 shares of company stock valued at $16,843,806. Corporate 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.