Korea Investment CORP Cuts Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,108 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 14,438 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $83,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 757 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $1,313,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 13,263 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,341,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $240,000. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 112 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $500.28 on Thursday. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $473.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.34. The stock has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $407.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $506.70.

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.