Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Sells 175 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,071 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for 2.4% of Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $4,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after buying an additional 98,654 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,495,501,000 after acquiring an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after acquiring an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares during the period. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth about $731,283,000. Institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a P/E ratio of -231.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $471.81 and its 200-day moving average is $463.08. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VRTX. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

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.