Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,288,498 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 617,207 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.89% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $921,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VRTX. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 2.2% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 14,409 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,701,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 4,913.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,668 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,101,000 after acquiring an additional 6,535 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 359.5% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 3,143 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 7.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,242 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,494,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harmony Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harmony Asset Management LLC now owns 6,917 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,217,000 after buying an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.96% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $490.00 to $494.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vertex Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $484.01. 2,063,769 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,286,638. The company has a market cap of $124.29 billion, a PE ratio of -220.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $480.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.69. 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 announced its 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 net margin of 4.86% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,256,000. This represents a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $455.06, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,315 shares of company stock valued at $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.