American Century Companies Inc. Sells 11,453 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 473,360 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,453 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.18% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $190,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $506.70.

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $8.76 on Wednesday, reaching $500.28. 1,328,359 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,112. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $473.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.34. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. 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 firm has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.