Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 258,622 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 52,685 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals makes up about 0.6% of Candriam S.C.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Candriam S.C.A. owned approximately 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $104,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $491.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $445.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $461.33. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $377.85 and a 12 month high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $126.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -223.47, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 64,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,084 shares of company stock valued at $505,512 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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.