Candriam S.C.A. Sells 1,831 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,567 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,831 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $68,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 33,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,324 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,243 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at $109,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $477.92 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $427.10. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $362.50 and a fifty-two week high of $519.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,391,225. This trade represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock worth $73,858,523. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Evercore upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $414.00 to $606.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.