Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC

Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC reduced its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the period. Vertex Pharmaceuticals accounts for approximately 2.2% of Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Private Harbour Investment Management & Counsel LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,495,501,000 after buying an additional 90,173 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.1% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,516,831 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,170,506,000 after purchasing an additional 100,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at about $731,283,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of VRTX stock opened at $509.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week high of $519.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.08. The stock has a market cap of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of -231.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.99 by ($0.45). Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.70.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company 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.