Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 21.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 approximately 0.89% of Vertex Pharmaceuticals worth $921,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Groupama Asset Managment boosted its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 43,479 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $17,363,000 after purchasing an additional 9,149 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 4,858 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,605 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 760,517 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $306,260,000 after purchasing an additional 283,684 shares during the last quarter. 90.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VRTX shares. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, January 31st. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $550.00 target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $435.00 to $467.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $555.00 to $567.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 target price on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.17.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.9 %

Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock traded down $9.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $474.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,884,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,296,710. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.69 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -215.74, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $481.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $463.73. 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 quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other Vertex Pharmaceuticals news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,256,000. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.83, for a total value of $142,547.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 64,021 shares in the company, valued at $29,438,776.43. This represents a 0.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. Company 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.