Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC Sells 1,173 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC decreased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,421 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,173 shares during the period. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 13,037 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,321,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% in the 1st quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 22,005 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,668,000 after acquiring an additional 3,782 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,983 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three 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, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock worth $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $463.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $117.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.69 and a beta of 0.32. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $433.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $426.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly 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. On average, research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.