Rhumbline Advisers Sells 7,335 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,335 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.17% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $178,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total transaction of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. The trade was a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $459.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $435.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $461.80. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 1.91% and a negative net margin of 4.52%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VRTX shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $562.00 to $586.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $505.96.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.