Empowered Funds LLC Sells 17,482 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 58.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 17,482 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,916 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,147,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 80,102 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,254,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the period. Broderick Brian C grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 51.1% during the 3rd quarter. Broderick Brian C now owns 11,460 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,330,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,817 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,681 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,572,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $361.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of VRTX opened at $465.70 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $119.93 billion, a PE ratio of -234.02 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $476.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $471.60. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.