Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,042 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,225 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $106,523,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,581,373,000 after acquiring an additional 851,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,705 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,351,385,000 after acquiring an additional 159,693 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,584,315 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,080,296,000 after acquiring an additional 244,336 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,422,677 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,135,556,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,347 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $756,381,000 after buying an additional 20,361 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $450.97 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $474.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $472.92. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $346.29 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $575.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $437.00 to $451.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Raymond James restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.