Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 2,864 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,864 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $76,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VRTX. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.62 on Monday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $481.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.66. The company has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.