Merlin Capital Inc Sells 30 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Merlin Capital Inc lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,982 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 2.6% of Merlin Capital Inc’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Merlin Capital Inc’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Arlington Trust Co LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the 4th quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $515.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $429.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total transaction of $150,697.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 55,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,755,762.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249 in the last 90 days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX stock traded down $2.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $394.00. The stock had a trading volume of 366,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,205. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $411.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $399.37. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The stock has a market cap of $101.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a current ratio of 3.99.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.33 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.