Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC lowered its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,518 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 3,769 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $10,276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $9,366,113,000 after purchasing an additional 98,654 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,519,302,000 after buying an additional 704,575 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,374,948,000. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $731,283,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VRTX opened at $474.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The company has a market cap of $121.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -215.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $481.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $463.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $377.85 and a 1-year high of $519.88.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VRTX. Bank of America upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $460.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.17.

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.