Pegasus Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Pegasus Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,670 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Pegasus Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VRTX. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 25,567,184 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $10,687,339,000 after purchasing an additional 3,761,414 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 61.0% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,743,882 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,401,000,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176,218 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 21.2% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,782,374 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,999,080,000 after purchasing an additional 837,461 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $277,317,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at approximately $257,655,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total value of $1,888,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 9,994 shares in the company, valued at $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Sangeeta N. Bhatia sold 646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $323,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 4,435 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,217,500. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 3,784 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $499.00, for a total transaction of $1,888,216.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 9,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,987,006. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,285 shares of company stock worth $7,101,755 in the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX stock traded down $2.51 on Tuesday, reaching $475.58. The company had a trading volume of 494,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,172,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.26, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $341.90 and a one year high of $510.64. The business’s 50-day moving average is $475.48 and its 200 day moving average is $460.75.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported ($12.83) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($12.54) by ($0.29). The business had revenue of $2.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4.74% and a negative return on equity of 2.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post -2.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $500.00 to $535.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $431.00 to $425.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $505.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $492.92.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.