Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Has $7.75 Million Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 48.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 17,777 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $7,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter worth $731,283,000. Edgewood Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7,876.3% during the third quarter. Edgewood Management LLC now owns 1,546,370 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $719,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,526,983 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at about $435,899,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 18.1% in the third 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. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 17.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,798,870 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,231,858,000 after buying an additional 704,421 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VRTX traded down $6.98 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $503.20. 2,279,849 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,218,791. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $466.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $462.64. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 52 week low of $377.85 and a 52 week high of $519.88. The company has a market cap of $129.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -228.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The pharmaceutical company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 64,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,438,776.43. This trade represents a 0.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VRTX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.70.

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.