SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 55,578 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,062 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 55,578 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $23,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $721,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after buying an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $16,983,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,059,000. Finally, Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% during the second quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 58,077 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,856,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $517.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $550.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.80.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $469.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $119.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.12 and a beta of 0.31. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $362.50 and a 52-week high of $519.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $442.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $427.19.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total transaction of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. This represents a 27.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 160,605 shares of company stock valued at $71,721,068. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.