Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Trims Stock Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. decreased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 69.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 393 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 899 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,382,407,000 after buying an additional 1,117,214 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,154 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,740,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Joseph Group Capital Management increased its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 6,422 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,586,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at $3,731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 worth $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $9.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $474.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,884,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,315. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $481.54 and a 200-day moving average of $463.85. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52-week low of $377.85 and a 52-week 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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VRTX. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $408.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $500.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $509.17.

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.