Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 20,952 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Boston Common Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 51.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,947 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 20,952 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 544,978 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $213,435,000 after buying an additional 20,053 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,030,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,417,000. Advisory Resource Group purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,695,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $495.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Maxim Group upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $411.00 to $441.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $554.30.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.3%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $443.16 on Tuesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $510.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $442.93. The stock has a market cap of $112.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.31.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.98 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,562,646.35. This represents a 21.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 1,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $486.35, for a total value of $897,802.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 55,570 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,026,469.50. The trade was a 3.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock worth $43,967,586. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.