Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lowered its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 11.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,450 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,047 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $18,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 3,710 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 892 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 58 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 2,236 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 167 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $78,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of VRTX stock traded up $3.91 on Friday, hitting $484.24. 1,444,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,286. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $436.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $460.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of -220.11, a PEG ratio of 2.07 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.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

VRTX has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. decreased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $522.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $505.61.

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.