MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,828 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,011 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,828 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $33,956,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth about $27,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stephens Consulting LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Founders Capital Management boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 50.0% in the second quarter. Founders Capital Management now owns 75 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $473.00 to $476.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $510.00 to $503.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $550.00 price target (up previously from $508.00) on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $504.38.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $467.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.20 and a current ratio of 2.47. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $346.29 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The stock has a market cap of $120.28 billion, a PE ratio of -234.71 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $473.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $474.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.61 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.52% and a negative return on equity of 1.91%. Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -1.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. The trade was a 27.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,445 shares of company stock worth $2,218,394 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.