Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. Decreases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,390 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter valued at about $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $257,655,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.91 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $461.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $341.90 and a 52-week high of $510.64. The firm has a market cap of $122.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.45% and a negative net margin of 4.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,987,006. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,217,500. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,988,066. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $462.00 to $474.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $472.00 to $509.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped 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. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $541.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 target price (up from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $492.92.

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.