Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Sells 2,487 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 91.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 240 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,487 shares during the quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% in the second quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. now owns 786 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% during the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

VRTX stock opened at $449.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $429.02 and its 200 day moving average is $425.79. The stock has a market cap of $114.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $498.42.

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.