Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 12.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,158 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 163 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Little House Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 58.8% during the 4th quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 2,320 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 859 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 227.1% during the 4th quarter. Paradigm Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,399 shares during the period. PGGM Investments raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 88.9% during the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 6,413 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,609,000 after buying an additional 3,018 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 4,709 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,916,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 1,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $390.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $457.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $429.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,250,727.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Amit Sachdev sold 3,222 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,354,013.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,364 shares in the company, valued at $31,250,727.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stuart A. Arbuckle sold 4,295 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $420.24, for a total value of $1,804,930.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 75,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,819,732.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,381 shares of company stock worth $5,203,249 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX opened at $397.48 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $411.60 and its 200-day moving average is $399.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.99, a quick ratio of 3.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $320.01 and a 1-year high of $448.40. The stock has a market cap of $102.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.85 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 36.68% and a return on equity of 21.91%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.33 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 14.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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.