Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 269,878 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 48,403 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned about 0.10% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $108,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Resource Group raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.2% during the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,970 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1,352.3% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,280,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $2,187,000. Finally, Destination Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4.5% during the third quarter. Destination Wealth Management now owns 3,361 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total value of $111,034.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,695 shares in the company, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

VRTX stock traded up $3.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $489.10. 1,205,462 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,330,372. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 1 year low of $377.85 and a 1 year high of $519.88. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $486.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.23. The company has a market cap of $125.60 billion, a PE ratio of -222.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VRTX. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $512.41.

About Vertex Pharmaceuticals

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.