Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,202 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $39,258,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on VRTX. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $498.42.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $455.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $427.56 and a 200-day moving average of $425.53. The stock has a market cap of $115.62 billion, a PE ratio of 32.14 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.