Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 14.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,875 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 27,129 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.06% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $63,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Leerink Partners raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $456.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $430.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $425.87.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.