Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Holdings Trimmed by MWA Asset Management

MWA Asset Management lessened its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 43.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 2,018 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $1,201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,893,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,699 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.7% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,533 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,664 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 79,429 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,941,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $448.01 on Wednesday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $346.29 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $475.85 and its 200 day moving average is $472.89. The company has a market cap of $115.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.13 and a beta of 0.39.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.82 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This represents a 12.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,445 shares of company stock valued at $2,218,394 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Barclays lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $499.12.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Profile

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.