Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 78.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,366 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,838 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. 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 boosted 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Total Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.9% during the third quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 86 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $474.17 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $120.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $362.50 and a one year high of $519.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $450.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $426.86.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 42,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This trade represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $522.68.

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.