Leeward Financial Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Leeward Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,015 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 997 shares during the quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,258,288 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $9,366,113,000 after acquiring an additional 98,654 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,816,249 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,495,501,000 after purchasing an additional 90,173 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,916,084 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,382,407,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,214 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,772,789 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,519,302,000 after purchasing an additional 704,575 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,374,948,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on VRTX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $408.00 to $424.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $503.00 to $500.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Ten research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of VRTX traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $469.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,024,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,515,050. 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 company has a market capitalization of $120.64 billion, a PE ratio of -213.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a one year low of $377.85 and a one year high of $519.88. The company's fifty day moving average price is $483.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $463.75.

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

Insider Activity at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 530 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.34, for a total value of $251,930.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,825,928.26. This trade represents a 0.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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. Insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

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.