Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 66.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,786 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 382,246 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.07% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $77,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,848 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,755 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA now owns 110,571 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $44,527,000 after purchasing an additional 10,966 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 8,638 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Group Investment Management PTE. LTD. now owns 23,581 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,496,000 after buying an additional 2,435 shares in the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VRTX. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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, April 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $514.91.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0 %

VRTX traded up $0.05 on Thursday, reaching $492.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,369,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,331,665. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $489.14 and its 200 day moving average is $466.12. The stock has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -223.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $1,615,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,805,286.70. The trade was a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.