Natixis Sells 13,865 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX)

Natixis decreased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX - Free Report) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,862 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock after selling 13,865 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $9,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norinchukin Bank The lifted its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 13,957 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $5,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam lifted its position in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 64,833 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,108,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 124,134 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $49,989,000 after purchasing an additional 13,781 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,428,951 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,199,713,000 after buying an additional 1,426,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 28,325,695 shares of the pharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,406,667,000 after buying an additional 1,514,993 shares during the period. 90.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $450.00 to $459.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $550.00 price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $433.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $545.00 price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals in a report on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $514.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In related news, EVP David Altshuler sold 3,231 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 26,512 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,256,000. This trade represents a 10.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ourania Tatsis sold 244 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,805,286.70. This trade represents a 0.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,315 shares of company stock worth $2,121,012. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of VRTX traded up $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $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 50 day moving average price of $488.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.82. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $377.85 and a fifty-two week high of $519.88. The company has a market capitalization of $126.46 billion, a PE ratio of -223.85, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.50. 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 (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 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.