MWA Asset Management Has $1.25 Million Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

MWA Asset Management reduced its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 39.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,198 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,061 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Berman McAleer LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $234,000. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 512,113 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $200,564,000 after acquiring an additional 14,313 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 220,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $86,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 123.3% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,201,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $469.90 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $453.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $427.54. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The company has a market cap of $119.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.14 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. The trade was a 20.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. The trade was a 9.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In 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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $545.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $414.00 to $606.00 in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.