AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Trims Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 94.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,032 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 48,224 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 689 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Eastern Bank lifted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% during the second quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,635 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.4% in the second quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Wealth Management Group increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the second quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 4,244 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,889,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,088,752.07. This trade represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This trade represents a 27.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of VRTX opened at $469.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $453.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $427.54. The company has a market cap of $119.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 31.35%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Scotiabank began coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.