Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,819 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 4,786 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $3,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,838 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $22,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,260 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $662,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 3,508 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,413,000 after buying an additional 862 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 289.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 77,393 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,994,000 after acquiring an additional 57,497 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 342,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $137,783,000 after acquiring an additional 55,739 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

VRTX opened at $462.58 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $435.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $461.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $119.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -232.45, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $505.96.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.