Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Decreases Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,992 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 1.3% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $24,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 36,275 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,150,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 769.2% in the second quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,415 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 5,677 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% in the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 13,754 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,123,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 76.5% in the second quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 796 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $546.00 to $541.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $466.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $456.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 2,329 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $481.79, for a total value of $1,122,088.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 35,405 shares in the company, valued at $17,057,774.95. The trade was a 6.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Duncan Mckechnie sold 4,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $487.65, for a total value of $2,394,361.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,562,646.35. The trade was a 21.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 93,485 shares of company stock valued at $43,967,586. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $446.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.13, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $443.30. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12 month low of $362.50 and a 12 month high of $510.77.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The pharmaceutical company reported $5.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.05 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 32.94% and a return on equity of 24.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.98 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share 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.