Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 5,423 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 207,056 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 5,423 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned about 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $81,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 110.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Asset Management LLC now owns 63 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 515.4% in the second quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 80 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.10.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $468.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $449.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $427.21. The stock has a market cap of $118.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $519.68.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related 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 $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total transaction of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.