Bridgewater Associates LP Has $286,000 Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 79.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 710 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 2,742 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VRTX. Kane Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $894,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth about $1,653,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,019,000. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 6,777 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,729,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 52,254 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $21,043,000 after acquiring an additional 3,524 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 0.3 %

VRTX traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $493.90. 923,557 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,330,996. 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 $126.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -224.09, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $489.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $466.12. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $535.00 to $533.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

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.