Rhumbline Advisers Has $175.43 Million Stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Rhumbline Advisers cut its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 447,928 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,444 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $175,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.7% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 39,035 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $17,378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 38,147 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $16,983,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Advisory Resource Group bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,286,000. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 23,569 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $9,231,000 after buying an additional 6,942 shares during the period. Finally, Welch & Forbes LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.4% in the third quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 220,346 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $86,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles F. Wagner, Jr. sold 9,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $461.00, for a total transaction of $4,394,252.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,391,225. This represents a 20.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Jeffrey M. Leiden sold 63,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.20, for a total value of $28,650,425.20. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 24,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,792,479.20. The trade was a 72.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 145,417 shares of company stock valued at $65,190,487 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $546.00 in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $455.00 to $445.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $548.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $495.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $522.68.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $461.24 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $459.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $427.29. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $362.50 and a twelve month high of $519.68. The company has a market capitalization of $117.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53 and a beta of 0.30.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.