Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 56.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 84 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 107 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $25,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 97.1% during the fourth quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC now owns 67 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VRTX shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $397.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $394.17 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $415.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 3.99 and a quick ratio of 3.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $316.43 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The company has a market cap of $101.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.33 EPS. Analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,203,249. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.