Princeton Global Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 1,666 shares during the quarter. Vertex Pharmaceuticals comprises approximately 0.9% of Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $5,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VRTX. Activest Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $423.00 to $415.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley set a $564.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, December 5th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $458.00 to $456.00 in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Vertex Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.42.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 14,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.00, for a total value of $6,384,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,202,600. The trade was a 27.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 24,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,792,479.20. This represents a 72.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 151,073 shares of company stock valued at $67,326,816. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX opened at $456.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.17 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $430.64 and a 200-day moving average of $426.01. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1-year low of $362.50 and a 1-year high of $519.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $3.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 23.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.