AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 7,299 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,075 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,299 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.09% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $88,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgewood Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% in the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,550,386 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,581,373,000 after buying an additional 851,054 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 169.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 839,672 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $338,136,000 after acquiring an additional 528,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ VRTX traded up $9.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $471.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,454,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,543,211. The company has a market capitalization of $121.14 billion, a PE ratio of -214.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.41. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a twelve month low of $377.85 and a twelve month high of $519.88. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $435.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.44.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 4.86%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VRTX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $402.00 to $407.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $505.57.

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.