Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY Cuts Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,224 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 99,752.6% in the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 171,204,312 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $60,248,509,000 after buying an additional 171,032,855 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $707,950,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 40.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,590,190 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,076,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,892,523 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 410.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,451,874 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $92,731,000 after purchasing an additional 1,167,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,517,548 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,368,554,000 after purchasing an additional 689,965 shares during the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $356.84 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $282.21 and a 52 week high of $387.42. The company has a market capitalization of $91.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $360.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.73. The company has a quick ratio of 3.89, a current ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 6th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.53 by $0.55. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 35.94% and a return on equity of 22.79%. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $389.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $312.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 21st. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $410.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $376.13.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 5,651 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.28, for a total transaction of $1,951,177.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,970,581.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 5,651 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.28, for a total transaction of $1,951,177.28. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 46,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,970,581.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce I. Sachs sold 11,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $385.00, for a total transaction of $4,331,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,400,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,411 shares of company stock valued at $18,511,525. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO and SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF homozygous F508del mutation for CF patients 2 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 4 months or older who have CF with a mutation that is responsive to ivacaftor, and R117H mutation or one of certain gating mutations.