Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by SVB Wealth LLC

SVB Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,194 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $6,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,293 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 800 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 3,020 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the third quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 4,375 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after buying 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

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $394.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $101.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $415.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $396.78. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $316.43 and a 52 week high of $448.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total transaction of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 2,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.51, for a total value of $1,114,218.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 27,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,596,934.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VRTX. Canaccord Genuity Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday. Maxim Group downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.62.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biotechnology company, engages in developing and commercializing therapies for treating cystic fibrosis (CF). It markets TRIKAFTA/KAFTRIO for people with CF with at least one F508del mutation for 2 years of age or older; SYMDEKO/SYMKEVI for people with CF for 6 years of age or older; ORKAMBI for CF patients 1 year or older; and KALYDECO for the treatment of patients with 1 year or older who have CF with ivacaftor.