Corient Private Wealth LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Corient Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,816 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,734 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $45,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Activest Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $454.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $428.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $425.62.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.