Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX Shares Sold by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lessened its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,000 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,491 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $14,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,973,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,673,126,000 after acquiring an additional 482,616 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.5% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 6,151,505 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,738,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,063 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,928,747 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,627,135,000 after purchasing an additional 166,987 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 10.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,378,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,949,228,000 after purchasing an additional 424,808 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,813,378 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,697,716,000 after purchasing an additional 65,047 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $455.00 to $546.00 in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $513.10.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total transaction of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $474.99, for a total value of $2,137,455.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 42,293 shares in the company, valued at $20,088,752.07. This represents a 9.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 165,105 shares of company stock valued at $73,858,523. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $468.41 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $362.50 and a 1 year high of $519.68. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $449.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.85.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.58 by $0.22. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.38 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.