Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 65,369 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 18.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 291,250 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 65,369 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $118,560,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,983,356 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,644,492,000 after acquiring an additional 87,397 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,944,913 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,605,146,000 after acquiring an additional 147,248 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,870,101 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $998,050,000 after acquiring an additional 89,217 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,813,563 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $978,388,000 after acquiring an additional 131,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,016,780 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $701,315,000 after acquiring an additional 67,451 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at $31,819,732.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 354 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.70, for a total value of $150,697.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 55,804 shares in the company, valued at $23,755,762.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $397.48. 682,467 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 909,553. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $320.01 and a 12 month high of $448.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $411.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $398.93.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 21.91% and a net margin of 36.68%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Robert W. Baird cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $325.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $332.00 to $379.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Evercore ISI raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $438.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

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.