Strategy Asset Managers LLC Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,614 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX opened at $492.69 on Friday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $126.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.95, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $463.76.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

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.