Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,497 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,361 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,687,339,000 after buying an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,401,000,000 after buying an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $277,317,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 74,015.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 324,626 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $150,977,000 after purchasing an additional 324,188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $465.70 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $476.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $472.09. 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 Incorporated has a 1 year low of $341.90 and a 1 year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.61 by $0.77. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $540.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $472.00 to $509.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $499.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This represents a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the 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 approximately $2,217,500. This trade represents a 12.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.