3Chopt Investment Partners LLC Has $2.30 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

3Chopt Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,721 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,316 shares during the period. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 91.2% during the 4th quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 2,956,608 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,190,626,000 after acquiring an additional 1,410,238 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth $435,899,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.41.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $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 three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $484.22 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $484.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.27. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $124.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -220.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its 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 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. As a group, equities analysts predict 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.